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Josh Frydenberg probably thought he’d be prime minister by now.
Instead, the ambitious former treasurer is living his best life as a very well-paid civilian – and a market stallholder. Frydenberg was spotted hocking second-hand stuff with his wife and children at the historic Camberwell Market in Melbourne’s inner east on Sunday morning.
Credit: Joe Benke
Eager to confirm it was the former prime minister-in-waiting himself, our spy bought a $5 elephant toy from the Frydo brood after the now-Goldman Sachs executive threw in an extra plastic dinosaur for free to get the deal across the line.
It seems his passion for negotiation remains intact (although, it doesn’t have quite the same stakes as guiding legislation through a hostile crossbench).
“Everything is for sale,” he spruiked, “except for the kids.”
Last month, he put his political comeback on hold after being appointed chairman of Goldman Sachs Australia.
Don’t worry, Frydenberg told CBD the proceeds of his Sunday stall go to charity – his household isn’t in the flea market game for the money.
RACE TO THE BOTTOM
Horse racing bosses in Melbourne and Sydney are continuing their fight to the line over which city hosts the biggest, and best, racing events.
Last Friday, Victoria Racing Club chief Steve Rosich stuck the whip into Racing New South Wales boss Peter V’landys at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual Spring Racing lunch at Flemington Racecourse.
VRC chief executive Steve Rosich.Credit: Racing Photos
Rosich said up to 260,000 people would attend Flemington across the four days of the carnival next week: Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Oaks Day and Stakes Day – “the four largest attended race days anywhere in Australia”.
“And they are legitimate numbers, as I look up north, they are legitimate numbers here in Victoria,” he said.
Attendance numbers at Sydney’s Everest race have remained stubbornly low since its launch in 2017. The crowd finally tipped over 46,000 last year.
V’landys, who was fresh from a state dinner at the White House with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, declined to comment on the jibe.
The Flemington lunch was hosted by VCCI chief executive Paul Guerra, who is a diehard racing fan, and attendees included Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, Crown Resorts chief Ciaran Carruthers and Sonney Roth, part owner of last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip.
It’s an interesting development, not least because the Everest team is looking to cement the legitimacy of its race, with Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding dropping to News Limited this weekend that none other than King Charles might attend next year’s dash.
Worth a punt, you’d think.
GATES OPEN
Microsoft’s founder, and the world’s on-again-off-again richest man, Bill Gates, takes a bit of an interest in what happens Down Under.
During a trip earlier this year, Gates met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and hosted a private dinner with a few local tech billionaires, including Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.
Gates appears to keep a keen eye on Australian elections, as documents released under freedom of information laws show him writing to Albanese as well as former prime ministers Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull to congratulate them on making it to The Lodge.
Bill Gates.Credit: AP
In other correspondence, Turnbull is praised for his “commitment to Australian innovation”, while Gates positively gushes about his last visit to Oz.
“I came away from my visit even more convinced of how much Australia has to offer in solving problems in climate, health and development,” Gates wrote to Albanese after his February trip.
If only the rest of us shared Gates’ boundless optimism.
THE OTHER QUILLS
Beverly, a ridiculous Real Housewives-style restaurant in South Yarra, was the scene of the glamorous upfronts for Channel Ten last week.
But on Saturday night, it played host to an even more star-studded event: the 50th birthday party of defamation specialist and media lawyer Justin Quill.
Among the attendees were former AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and current boss Andrew Dillon, News Corp national executive editor Peter Blunden, Nine journalists Nick McKenzie and Tom Steinfort, and Nine news director Hugh Nailon.
Legal bigwigs also graced the event, with silks Dr Matt Collins, Will Horgan, Renee Enbom and Gina Schoff, alongside law firm Thomson Geer boss Adrian Tembel, partner Loretta Reynolds and AFL general counsel Stephen Meade, and former player Campbell Brown.
Sources told us that Quilly’s speech was well received, especially the quip: “Now that I’m 50, I know I should be maturing and slowing down, but I have absolutely no intention of doing that.”
As for Quill, when contacted by CBD on Sunday, he was uncharacteristically quiet, declining to comment on the night before.
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