CBD
How quickly the wheel turns. According to page one of The Australian Financial Review on October 26 last year, John Kinghorn was nothing short of a charitable titan, sinking $300 million into his Kinghorn Foundation.
"Now, he wants to help cure cancer," the paper gushed. "He has given $25 million and his name to the Kinghorn Cancer Centre ... plans to donate substantially more ... "
On Wednesday, NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption found Kinghorn "engaged in corrupt conduct in relation to their actions involving the Mount Penny mining tenement in the Bylong Valley".
Kinghorn floated his home lender RAMS in late July 2007 but just a few weeks later shares tanked after it told the market it had failed to roll over more than $6 billion in debt funding. CBD can't help but think Wednesday's ruling might have resonated with burned RAMS investors.
The wheel has turned a little slower for former NSW minister and ALP powerbroker Eddie Obeid, who took to the floor of State Parliament in 2007 to slam SMH scribe Kate McClymont as "the journalistic equivalent of a gun moll with glittering associations with the not so well-to-do".
"Despite this being well known, management of The Sydney Morning Herald continue to grant her prime, unscrutinised space. How many more times must my sons and I take action in the courts to redress the damage this journalist has inflicted?"
On Wednesday, ICAC referred a finding of corrupt conduct against Obeid to the NSW Crime Commission and recommended the DPP consider prosecuting sons Moses and Paul for giving misleading evidence.
Magazine enrages
Anger in newsagentland, where hard-working shopkeepers are angry at being drafted - at their expense - into the election campaign run by Jamie McIntyre, a self-described financial educator from the Gold Coast.
McIntyre, who is running against National Party senator Barnaby Joyce for the federal lower house seat of New England, is selling through newsagents magazines promoting his 21st Century Australia party.
For $9.95 - or free if you download it from the party's website - you get a completely impartial interview with the "ambitious" and "passionate" McIntyre, and an ad for a Brisbane apartment development, apparently endorsed by fashion designer Alex Perry, to be built by, er, 21st Century Australia Property.
Mark Fletcher, who runs the feisty Australian Newsagency Blog, complains newsagents are bearing the cost of stocking and handling "election propaganda".
Fletcher reckons the mag is "junk" and it will cost newsagents about a dollar a unit to handle it and return the unsold copies. "We sell all sorts of things, and I accept we sell all sorts of things, but this just looks ridiculous," he told CBD.
David Hogan, the GM of magazine distributor Gordon & Gotch, said fewer than 5000 copies had been sent out. "Is this magazine going to sell its head off? No, it's not, but we didn't put out that many either," he said. "There wouldn't be many retailers getting more than three to four copies.'
Masquerade ball
As the dreaded reporting season closes in, the property industry "mafia" is having one last fling - with an Italian masquerade theme.
More than 600 will gather at the Hilton Sydney on Friday night for the annual Property Industry Foundation charity ball. Heavyweights Michael Cameron, head of the GPT Group, Bob Johnston of Australand Property Group and newly appointed Investa Property Group head Campbell Hanan have stumped up to host a table. David Southon, joint CEO of Charter Hall, Mark Gray, head of Leighton Properties and Stephen Conry, head of Jones Lang LaSalle, will also don masks.
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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The article reports that NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found John Kinghorn "engaged in corrupt conduct" in relation to actions involving the Mount Penny mining tenement in the Bylong Valley.
The piece notes the contrast: media coverage had recently highlighted Kinghorn’s large philanthropic gifts (including a $300 million Kinghorn Foundation and a $25 million donation to the Kinghorn Cancer Centre), but ICAC’s finding of corrupt conduct relating to the Mount Penny tenement has complicated his public image.
The article recalls that Kinghorn floated his home lender RAMS in late July 2007 and that RAMS shares plunged shortly afterward when the company failed to roll over more than $6 billion in debt funding — a point the article suggests still resonates with burned RAMS investors.
According to the article, ICAC referred its finding of corrupt conduct against former NSW minister Eddie Obeid to the NSW Crime Commission and recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions consider charging his sons Moses and Paul for allegedly giving misleading evidence.
The article says Gold Coast financial educator Jamie McIntyre is distributing a magazine promoting his 21st Century Australia party through newsagents. Newsagents complain they’re being forced to stock and handle the publication at their own cost, calling it "election propaganda" and in one comment "junk."
The article quotes Gordon & Gotch’s general manager saying fewer than 5,000 copies were sent out, and that most retailers likely received only three to four copies each.
The article says more than 600 people gathered at the Hilton Sydney for an Italian masquerade–themed Property Industry Foundation charity ball, with industry heavyweights hosting or attending including Michael Cameron (GPT Group), Bob Johnston (Australand Property Group), Campbell Hanan (Investa Property Group), David Southon (Charter Hall), Mark Gray (Leighton Properties) and Stephen Conry (Jones Lang LaSalle).
The article highlights regulatory findings, reputational issues and industry activity — all things that can affect investor sentiment. Everyday investors might note the importance of corporate governance, regulatory risk (like ICAC findings), and how media coverage or high‑profile controversies can influence perceptions of companies or sectors.
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