Niki Savva’s identity stolen with fake social media account

Chiming in

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When we brought news last week that Malcolm Turnbull would be skipping the country on election day, we jested that it wouldn’t be long before the former PM would be offering up his two cents on the outcome.

How right we were. On Saturday, UK time, Turnbull phoned in to BBC’s Newshour to offer a few hot takes on the Liberal Party’s demolition. He could barely disguise his glee at one-time adversary Peter Dutton’s political demise.

“Look, Dutton and I have a history, full disclosure. Dutton was the figure, the person, who instigated the coup, backed by the Murdoch media, that ultimately resulted in the end of my prime ministership in 2018,” Turnbull said.

He later added that Dutton’s style “has been to promote and take advantage of division”.

And he had plenty more to say, but was silenced by host Celia Hatton, who hastily cut off the former PM and ended the Aussie election segment just as he was getting started on a long answer about China.

“Malcolm Turnbull, I’m sorry, we’ll have to leave it there,” she said.

We’ve heard that one before.

Fit king

We can now say with confidence that recycling-cardboard-box billionaire Anthony Pratt at the Met Gala was easily this week’s most successful green.

Not because of any affiliation with the troubled environmental political party, but because the chair of Visy and Pratt Industries served an arresting, green-themed look at the Met Gala fundraiser that we describe as clashing in confidence.

CBD loves a clashing print (heck, any sort of clash is good copy), so we were pleased to see Pratt’s suit teamed with the green theme and heroes the “Pratt 100% Recycled” decals that were such a feature of last year’s Met Gala Willy Wonka pink suit.

Pratt, who now has a US green card and the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel after investing $US700 million ($1.08 billion) in a paper mill there, was accompanied by his sister and Visy deputy chair Fiona Geminder. The family wealth is put at $25 billion.

All Met Gala attendees must be personally invited by US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour – and that’s before they need to shell out the required $US75,000 per ticket.

Pratt was days before front-and-centre of US President Donald Trump’s economic initiative after promising to invest billions in the US, which earned him a personal shout-out at the White House, as this masthead reported.

“Executive global chairman of Pratt Industries, friend of mine, Anthony Pratt – he’s investing $US5 billion, thank you,” Trump said as Pratt stood in his blue suit, flashed his hand up in thanks, and sat down again.

It is a far cry from two years earlier when Trump labelled him a red-headed weirdo.

Now Pratt is feted by both Trump and Wintour. There cannot be anyone more central to the two diametrically opposed sides of US culture right now.

Under the influence

The Albanese government’s decision to invite a posse of progressive influencers into the federal budget lock-up in March forced some of our frumpy elder media colleagues to grapple with hot new trends like Instagram and twenty-somethings.

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It also kicked off a rather fruitful election season for 26-year-old new media personality Hannah Ferguson, founder of Cheek Media, which includes a Substack, podcast and, er, a line of bespoke vibrators. Kids these days.

After a budget-week interview with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ferguson has appeared on a bunch of TV panels, but she ain’t done yet.

Up next: an address at the National Press Club, a forum Peter Dutton was too scared to appear at during his three years as opposition leader. And beyond that a potential return to Canberra beckons, with Ferguson telling her Instagram followers she had aspirations of becoming an independent senator for NSW. The next election isn’t due until 2028, but it’s never too early.

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