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Many retired cabinet ministers might expect a cushy, high-profile retirement gracing the boards of top institutions, maybe even a plum overseas posting if the government is the right colour.
But former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert, whose constant elevation despite a litany of controversies and gaffes baffled everyone in Canberra, has found a slightly more low-grade post-parliamentary job.
Stuart Robert in his parliamentary days.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Brother Stuie (as Scott Morrison called him) is now chief executive of online shopping portal Explore My Store, which appears to be a website that collates links to the websites of other companies where you can buy stuff. Think Amazon, but less direct and with a user experience straight out of the 2000s.
While it doesn’t seem like the most sophisticated or disruptive entrant into the e-commerce world, Explore My Store does have a rather grandiose, apocalyptic mission statement, with its “about” page describing it as staging a “fightback” against “global behemoths like Amazon” who are trying to “destroy Australian retail”.
Those behemoths are, apparently, the source of “lost livelihoods, broken families, associated health issues, [and] community pressures”.
Credit: Illustration: John Shakespeare
“This is serious! The future of the ‘Lucky Country’ is at stake here.”
Looks like Robert, who was once spotted baptising tourists in the Jordan River during a church trip to Israel, hasn’t lost his flair for the biblical.
The former federal minister, who also owns about a quarter stake in Explore My Store, didn’t return CBD’s calls on Monday.
But we’re just pleased that now he’s no longer accountable to the Australian public, or pesky rules about conflicts of interest, Robert is free to pursue his business interests unimpeded.
It was something he did with a little too much gusto as an MP.
UltraTune boss’s up and down fortunes
Multimillionaire businessman Sean Buckley has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
The Ultra Tune boss became famous for his company’s risque adverts starring Charlie Sheen and Pamela Anderson, and then rather infamous when it was discovered the company had been using its marketing budget to pay for its “Rubber Girl” brand ambassadors to star on the front cover of men’s magazines – including some of Buckley’s ex-partners.
Buckley is one of those people whom things just seem to sort of happen around. Take the incident last month in which his ex-partner was allegedly assaulted at Maxim magazine’s Halloween party – by Buckley’s then-current partner, the Daily Mail reported.
Ultra Tune owner Sean Buckley in 2018 on set with the company’s “Rubber Girl” brand ambassadors.Credit: Twitter/Sean Buckley
And in new court documents Buckley claims an audio recording of him allegedly assaulting a different ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Cole, was actually … a sex tape.
That assertion was contained in a new statement of claim as part of his ongoing court stoush with Cole and a former employee, Anthony Swords, over the release of said recording. That is now headed to court with a trial date set for 2025, and how that will end up CBD certainly can’t predict.
The stylish penthouse’s loungeroom.Credit: Domain
Buckley does appear to have had one recent win, however. Title records show he’s taken out a caveat on a South Melbourne luxury penthouse formerly owned by billionaire tech entrepreneur Robin Khuda.
Caveats are usually a legal step towards buying a property. Buckley though, very apologetically, told CBD on Monday that he couldn’t give any more details.
“I can’t really talk about it, unfortunately. If I tell you what the reason is, it will get awkward for you. I’d rather not comment on it,” he said.
Fair enough – CBD always does its best to avoid awkward situations. If Buckley is buying the pad, though, he’s getting a pretty bit of real estate.
Stunning!Credit: Domain
Domain has reported the 545-square metre, three-bedroom home, bought in 2020 for $6.6 million, comes with a pool out on the rooftop and views across the CBD and Port Phillip Bay.
Radio deal is far from static
It’s getting to the point where ARN Media is going to need its own in-house dealing desk for shares in Southern Cross Austereo.
The radio giant, which owns KIIS FM, home of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, recently bought up a 14.8 per cent stake in its rival, laying the groundwork for a private equity-backed takeover bid.
Hamish McLennan.Credit: Kate Geraghty
ARN, which is chaired by former Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan, was dealt a blow on Monday when the Takeovers Panel ruled its initial stake was acquired in contravention of rules, and ordered a sale of 6.8 per cent of those shares.
The panel’s decision, which ARN has vowed to have reviewed, not only hinders McLennan. It’s also good news for Australian Community Media boss Antony Catalano, who along with billionaire Alex Waislitz is wielding a counter-offer for Southern Cross.
Just to complicate matters even further, the Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven West Media launched its own share raid last month, acquiring a 20 per cent stake.
Power out
News that the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney is shutting down for three years from February provided a bit of certainty about the future of the institution after so much time in limbo. And strangely enough, it might also bring a bit of solace to the museum’s staff, who are some of the most miserable in the public service.
Just 18 per cent of respondents to a recent internal staff survey thought change was well managed in the organisation, while only 25 per cent thought senior staff provided clear directions for the future of the organisation, down 7 per cent since 2022.
The survey also found that 21 per cent of respondents intended to leave within a year, while 36 per cent hoped to apply for jobs elsewhere in the public service. Of those planning to depart, 42 per cent blamed the poor quality of senior leadership.
Now, all this comes against a backdrop of years of uncertainty about the future of the Ultimo site, a lack of clarity about the purpose of the museum, and plenty of flip-flopping from successive state governments over what exactly they wanted the Powerhouse to be.
“The Powerhouse Museum is undertaking a once-in-a-generation transformation as part of the unprecedented program of renewal,” a spokesperson for the museum told us.
“We recognise that times of transition and change can be difficult for staff, which is why we have developed a comprehensive Workforce Transition Plan.”
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