Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Stall #1 In The Fairfax Stable

SOME THOUGHTS that, careerwise, might have been better unsaid:

Let's hear it for our billionaire mining magnates, the likes of Andrew ''Twiggy'' Forrest, Clive Palmer and Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart. Their howls of pain at the prospect of the federal government's new mining tax were wondrous to behold. -- Butch Carlton in The Silly 

The mining magnate Gina Rinehart, down to her last $11 billion… -- Butch again

There's no one to touch a West Australian mining magnate when it comes to whining about paying tax. They never stop. Rinehart (fortune: $10.3 billion) claimed in July that the carbon tax and the mineral resources rent tax would leave bureaucracy the only ''growth industry in Australia'' and, bizarrely, wants any new taxes or tax increases to be approved by referendum.Butch just can’t leave good enough alone

“ ‘… Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, thanks to exploration costs, averaged a 10.6 per cent tax rate over a five-year period’ ” -- The AFR’s Neil Chenoweth, admiringly quoted by the AFR’s Laura Tingle, who won a Walkley for this column. A paragraph or two later Tingle puts Rinehart in her place: “…[this] has been the year of the rent-seeker.”


UPDATE: Annoying as he is to all but his personal trainer and groomer, who are paid to put up with him, mitigating the weekly annoyance that is Mike “Butch” Carlton may not be the only reason Gina Rinehart is investing some small change in her bid to become Fairfax’s largest stockholder. Could this recent profile in Good Weekend have been the catalyst that saw her reach for the cheque book? Take a look, imagine it is you being profiled and see if that perspective does not bring quite a few of the article’s deficiencies into a very sharp focus.

Perhaps Rinehart objects to unattributed quotes, especially when they are about her and unvaryingly bitchy. Or maybe, as with the article’s anecdote about her allegedly eye-poking hat, she objects to reporters repeating transparently obvious falsehoods. And then, after her PR person had demolished the charge of culpable headwear, she may not have appreciate reporter Jane Cadzow’s Parthian shot as she rode off to round up another herd of slurs and misrepresentations, including those of an estranged ex-husband.

If it was Cadzow’s profile that spurred Rinehart to action, praise the Great Bunyip that Fairfax published it.

17 comments:

  1. Bunyip,

    Congratulations on your clairvoyant abilities.

    Please email me next weeks lotto numbers, thanks Squire!

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  2. Paul Barry, of Eric Beecher’s error-ridden Power Index, whilst admitting ignorance, guesses this morning (on ABCTV) that Gina Rinehart wants both a say in how Fairfax is run and more coverage of her own opinions of the mining tax and “carbon” tax, but opines that she will not be able to exert influence. (He added that it would be bad if she did exert influence.)
    In other words, he’s saying that Mrs Rinehart is stupid and doesn’t know how to spend her money effectively. Somehow, I reckon that Mrs Rinehart would have worked out by now the value of a dollar and would know how much advertising she could buy with the amount of money she’s investing in Fairfax.

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  3. The Old and Unimproved DaveFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:10 PM

    Once Gina takes over, perhaps Mike will be reassigned as the Sillie's weather girl. True, newspaper weather columnists aren't seen by the public, but Gina will no doubt still insist that he adopt the short, tight skirt and the peroxided hair while on Fairfax premises.

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    1. I had the misfortune to read this while eating breakfast. Just thought you'd like to know.

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  4. Bunyip - Maybe post-takeover by Rinehardt Fairfax Media could adopt a new branding strategy, relevant to the times in whcih we live.

    How's The Gina Rinehardt Work for the Dole Project sound to you?

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  5. "SOME THOUGHTS that, careerwise, might have been better unsaid"

    Time to get screencaps in anticipation of a sudden 404alanche.

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  6. The poll at the end of the article is 67% 'BAD' that Gina is making a run on UnFairfax! 'Good' is as high as you can vote!

    What a loaded poll at the end of such a negative article. Nowhere was it recognised what a good manager Gina is to have got where she has.

    And as for the kids 'who have waited long enough for their inheritance' - what a big assumption that is. Have they contributed anything other than act as sponges?

    Presumably they have good educations, then get out and start their own businesses and prove they have guts and flair rather than expect largess much the same as the Tent Embassy participants.

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    1. Oh, theya re probably alal Occuparasites or related to some!..Obviously they think that anyone with coins to jingle is 'rich" and that's a dirty word--they want the coins divided amongst them with no effort on thi eir own aprt to ear n..That's the same mentality of many unionists who think all bossesa re "abstards" to be scammed and com nned and robbed oneway or another. They ahve no concept of risk taking to provide jobs.All of them make me sick--but you knew that didn;t you?
      Try reading this piece for a feeling of de ja vu
      www.blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100134355/why-britain-is-stuffed-an-unintentional-masterclass-courtesy-of-the-bbc/

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  7. Surely Butch, Betty et al's positions are now untenable? The decent and morally correct thing to do would be to hand in their "collective" resignations!

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  8. Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.February 1, 2012 at 3:11 PM

    Gina Reinhardt is a large force in more ways than one. Watch them scatter. But it may take some time.

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  9. The ABC's wasteful 24-Hour HD TV Chatter Channel is worked up over this. The afternoon presenter said there had been a lot of "political discussion" generated, but to me it looks like they themselves are doing most of it. I'd say they're exhibiting fear and loathing.
    Hey, what if she ends up buying a controlling share of the newly privatised ABC after the next election? If they're close to spewing over this little foray into the marketplace, they'll be catatonic when it gets more serious.

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  10. Ahhh..... Butch Carlton in the Silly
    I wrote to him recently warning of an impending shitstorm heading his way.
    Alas, he was dismissive somewhat apoplectically (Is that a legitimate word?) so.
    Actually according to Wikipedia:
    In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state of extreme rage or excitement.
    Damm , that is a bulls-eye then.
    Life has it's moments.

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  11. This is absolutely the best news that I have heard in ages. What a fantastic January - and we have the rest of the year to look forward to!

    Love your work Professor.

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  12. What I find typically leftist is the comments about Barnaby Joyce who said that he didn't want to talk about her because he was his mate and she liked her privacy. The fact that he said that he would probably not be her mate if he broke her confidence and talk about her was seen as some type of negative. What a strange world these people live in.

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  13. She's wasting her money, in my opinion, but it's hers to waste.

    A much cheaper solution: hire some toughs to beat up people who insult you. That's been a favorite of the well-to-do for centuries.

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  14. ..some contend she is much less generous than others who have made billions digging minerals out of the West Australian desert. "She's unknown in philanthropic circles," McGinty says.

    To which we can all say a hearty, big woop!

    Like it's anyone's business how she spends her money? I guess they'll pay someone to scrounge through her garbage for receipts next.

    I loathe conspicuous compassion (pdf) and refuse to discuss anything I give as a rule. There are exceptions, such as when my girl demands that I donate to the school's latest Cause.

    In general, though, it's nobody's business, and if Gina doesn't want to donate to one of the innumerable organisations begging for funds, then I honestly couldn't care less and wish her good luck.

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    1. She DOES have charities she donates to, just not the ones they leftist twitterati agree with! Fools!

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