CBD

Another gong for our Clive?

Living national treasure Clive Palmer might be able to add "Good Samaritan" to his list of achievements next year, with beatification surely just around the corner.

"Honoured to be nominated for the Good Samaritan of the Year 2013. Awards to be decided next month," he tweeted on Wednesday.

The Good Sammies website says its awards "are our way to offer recognition to those in the community who act selflessly and for the benefit of others".

We can only wonder which of his achievements Palmer is being nominated for. Is the coal magnate being recognised for his contribution to the awareness of global warming? Or for bringing a host of former world leaders to his Palmer Coolum Resort this month for a meeting of the Club de Madrid global think tank? The conference's main topic was how to tackle global youth unemployment.

CBD's money is on Palmer's recent display of bogan pride, which has helped raise awareness of this underprivileged class that has lost its way under the foundering patronage of Nathan Tinkler.

"All I can say is I like chips," Mr Palmer said. "I wear Ugg boots and I go four-wheel driving."

The big question is which category of the Good Sammies award Palmer was nominated under: large business, sole trader, volunteer, or individual.



Spluttering end

God bless those sticklers at BHP Billiton for taking their disclosure obligations so seriously.

The transcript for the briefing from Petroleum and Potash boss Tim Cutt scrupulously recorded every detail of his vocals giving out after two days of back-to-back briefings.

Cutt's Q&A was brought to a spluttering halt with the self-evidently incorrect statement: "I just lost my voice. I've really lost my voice." A company flack requested the conference call be closed for five minutes while Cutt found his voice again but he offered to continue, saying "actually, I think it's coming back". Alas, his recovery did not last long before being forced to declare his innings at a close.



Lend Lease win

Lend Lease boss Steve McCann bagged the Property Person of the Year award on Wednesday from the developer industry lobby group, Urban Taskforce Australia.

We are assuming it was not a big surprise given his chairman, David 'Cindy' Crawford, was in attendance, along with Lend Lease director David Ryan, and judging by the guest list which included his family and a vast number of Lend Lease staff.



Shares offloaded

Computershare chairman Chris Morris continues to unburden himself of stock in the company he founded, offloading a further $13.2 million of shares, according to notices filed on Wednesday. The pub and chopper enthusiast has now trousered about $33.6 million this year for other pursuits.

Morris might be contemplating fresh paint for the $1400 a night Orpheus Island resort he acquired for $6.25 million in a self-described "act of madness" more than two years ago. He has already splashed a further $15 million on related projects in the area - including a helicopter business in Cairns.

Not that return on investment appears to be a concern for the anti-pokie pub enthusiast whose booze business includes the Mornington Peninsula's Portsea Hotel. He admitted to this publication this year that "the only ones [pubs] really making money are the ones with poker machines".

Also selling down this week was former Computershare employee and fellow director Penelope Maclagan, who is devoting her spare change to a more conventional form of charity. The $3.6 million of shares sold were from the PMF Foundation she set up for philanthropic pursuits.

Both directors still have plenty of skin in the game. Morris owns just over 40.3 million shares worth $435 million and Maclagan's stake is worth around $142 million.