Executive Summary: Tuesday February 09, 2010
By Scott Rochfort | smh.com.au | 09 February
Illustration: John Shakespeare
The former Air New Zealand-Ansett boss Gary Toomey has kept a low profile on both sides of the Tasman since the collapse of Australia's then second biggest airline in 2001.
But since becoming chief executive of Airlines PNG in June last year, the Toomey star appears to be on the rise in Papua New Guinea.
Toomey has thrown his weight behind the rugby league-mad nation's bid to get a team in the National Rugby League, a decade on since the now defunct Ansett helped sponsor and even carry the torch of the Sydney Olympics.
''We fully support this great 'National Impact Project' of the Papua New Guinea government and many people in Papua New Guinea will enjoy,'' the former Qantas executive said in a statement.
SCREEN PAWN
The ABC's Inside Business program has made its most concerted effort yet to lift the ratings of its weekly wrap-up with Paterson Securities broker Marcus Padley. Just as Sunday morning's interview started, a Paterson staff member behind the presenter Padley was clearly visible viewing a chess pawn on each of his screens. When he noticed the cameras were rolling, he quickly turned his screen off and walked away.
''It was their pun on porn,'' explained Padley yesterday.
He explained the ABC graphics department had decided to make a reference to Channel Seven's live-cross to Macquarie's Martin Lakos last Tuesday, which showed his colleague David Kiely gawking at a semi-nude Miranda Kerr in the background.
MAIDEN WORDS
The Melbourne-based UBS investment banker Jonathan Mant made a last-minute pitch yesterday to some of his colleagues across the country.
Mant dispatched an email late in the morning offering ideas of how people could spend a lazy Monday, instead of going for a long lunch, crunching numbers or playing solitaire. The message was titled: ''In case you're bored at lunch time today … ''
It was a reminder from the ex-president of the University of Melbourne's Liberal Club that his wife, Kelly O'Dwyer, was giving her maiden speech in Federal Parliament, after being elected to Peter Costello's old seat of Higgins.
''If you are interested in watching it, the link to the webcast is below - just click on the link and then click on one of the video cameras next to the House of Representatives,'' he explained in the email.
The UBS banker met his wife when they crossed paths in their student days while espousing their political beliefs. O'Dwyer is a former secretary of the university's Liberal Club.
Rather than appear to be a desperate attempt to drum up support for his wife, Mant's email seemed to give the impression that her parliamentary speech was going to be a ratings hit. At least in UBS's Melbourne office.
''Alternatively, I understand the speech will also be webcast through Kelly's Facebook page (although it might get a little crowded around the one screen in the breakout room),'' he explained.
It is unclear if Optus provided any simulcast of the introduction of its former corporate affairs director, Paul Fletcher, to Federal Parliament yesterday as Brendan Nelson's replacement.
TIGER SUPPORTERS
A lot of aviation pundits have been highly negative about the financial performance of Tiger Airways lately. Aside from racking up about $80 million in losses in Australia, the Singapore Airlines-backed el-cheapo carrier has recently watched its newly listed shares slip below their initial public offer price.
But CBD has spotted some silver lining in Tiger's financial accounts for Australia, which were filed with the corporate regulator last week.
The accounts for the 12 months to March 31 show the airline managed to scrounge $5.1 million in ''government incentives and marketing support'' for the period. That is up from the previous year's $3.9 million in handouts. The airline declined to offer a breakdown of where the money came from. It only noted the assistance of the Victorian and Queensland taxpayers. But the Singaporean taxpayer appears to have sunk a lot more into the struggling carrier, via Singapore Airlines and the island nation's sovereign wealth fund, Temasek. Tiger's chief executive, Tony Davis, is expected to make a visit to Australia this month. It is not known if he will be accompanied by the fluffy toy tiger that has joined him on previous excursions.
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First published by Smh.com.au on February 09 2010
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