Imagine, if you will, a Melbourne tower so spectacular, so glittering, so mirrorlike, so … reflective, that it beams light so intensely that it cooks people in the building opposite. Well, our CBD has just that.
Keen-eyed observers (wearing sunglasses) told this column they had noticed scaffolding go up around Collins Arch, the award-winning $1.25 billion pride and joy of developer Cbus Property, in January.
Collins Arch, also known as the “pantscraper”, as seen from the Yarra River.Credit: Joe Armao
Known affectionately (or mockingly) as the “pantscraper” (because it’s shaped like a pair of trousers), the tower is experiencing some troubles.
The main attraction of the Arch, on the corner of Collins and Market streets, was the addition of a new park, which is less than half the size of the area which preceded it.
Now, due to the scaffolding established to replace facade material and subdue glare, the park can’t even be accessed.
Residents on opposite towers had mentioned to A Current Affair a few years back that the impact of the building’s sleek reflection was akin to being about 30 metres from the surface of the sun, making for some electric morning light.
As a result, Cbus has had to replace the offending panes of glass on the building they describe with the slogan: “Where luxury lives forever.”
We don’t know how much it would set them back, but it would be a pretty penny.
Believe or not there’s a term for this — fryscrapers — which describes a phenomenon where a building reflects concentrated beams of sunlight. Some have been blamed for melting plastic car parts, blistering paint and scorching plants to death.
We understand that it’s due to be completed at the end of next year, with the park reopening around six months before. We’ll see. Cbus Property confirmed this column was right but wouldn’t go into any further detail.
Certainly seems like a case of being caught with one’s pants down.
CHVASTEK QUIETLY EXITS ABC
Veteran ABC regional broadcaster Nicole Chvastek has resigned from Aunty under somewhat strange circumstances. Not being treated to the fanfare that typically accompanies the exiting of a public broadcasting stalwart, Chvastek, the long-time regional statewide drive program host had been on leave the past few months.
ABC radio host Nicole Chvastek has departed the public broadcaster.Credit: ABC
CBD has confirmed that the Fair Work Commission bullying claim she filed against Aunty a few months ago has been discontinued.
When contacted, her lawyer was tight-lipped about the conditions of Chvastek’s departure, and wouldn’t be drawn on whether a settlement was paid.
“Nicole has had a very wide listener base in regional Victoria and has attracted a considerable following from what I’ve observed,” Mark Comito told this column.
The ABC has also been discreet about why she wasn’t on air, The Guardian reported.
“We can confirm that Nicole Chvastek has resigned from the ABC and acknowledge the contribution she has made as the presenter of ABC Victoria’s Statewide Drive program over the past 10 years,” an ABC spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Adding: “We wish her all the best.”
I’LL LOVE YOU, TOO: MORROW
CBD reported last month that a near four-year legal battle between former Chaser star Julian Morrow and his erstwhile business partner Nick Murray was finally ending, after the NSW Court of Appeal handed the comedian a definitive loss.
Not so fast. Morrow has sought leave to appeal that decision to the High Court, with top defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou standing alongside him in the last-chance saloon.
There are friend break-ups. And then there are friend break-ups that lead to years of litigation, and millions in legal bills. This is the latter.
Credit: John Shakespeare
The bitter, protracted dispute began when Murray’s production company CJZ agreed to sell its share in consumer affairs show The Checkout to Morrow‘s Giant Dwarf after ABC management axed the program.
Unbeknownst to Murray, Morrow had been pitching a similar show to Aunty’s executives.
A furious Murray refused to sign a deed of release when he found out, nuking the show, and leading Morrow to sue for a breach of the sale agreement. Murray countersued for misleading and deceptive conduct, while Morrow sued him back for defamation over four angry emails sent to ABC management, including one likening the comedian to Lord Voldemort.
In the messy, high-profile case (Morrow drew on a character witness list that included Arts Minister Tony Burke and failed Labor candidate Kristina Keneally), Justice James Stevenson initially found for Murray on the commercial aspects, but ruled that he had defamed the comedian.
The NSW Court of Appeal reversed the defamation decision, and rejected Morrow’s appeal on the commercial case. And now, here we are, with Morrow’s legal team challenging both the commercial and defamation rulings made by justices Julie Ward, Anna Mitchelmore and Christine Adamson in the Court of Appeal.
“The appeal covers both the malice of Nick Murray and CJZ in defamation and the finding that their malicious falsehoods did not cause economic loss,“ Morrow told CBD.
Murray, meanwhile, compared his rival to the Black Knight from Monty Python. Morrow is also seeking further legal advice regarding the financial implications of the case. He’ll be on the hook for legal costs of around $2.5 million, although the final figure won’t be settled until all avenues of appeal are exhausted.
BRING IN THE BIG GUNS
It’s not every day that you see progressive pollsters-cum-strategic communications firm Essential Media join forces with CT Group, for years the Liberal Party’s research firm of choice founded by John Howard’s old electoral necromancer Sir Lynton Crosby.
But the push for an Indigenous Voice to parliament makes strange bedfellows, and with support for Yes starting to drop, the campaign has enlisted Essential Media to the cause.
The firm has been running engagement for Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition (AICR), putting together educational town hall meetings on the Voice with civil society, business leaders and politicians across the political aisle. Those calls to MPs prompted them to register as one of the group’s lobbyists.
CT, meanwhile, has been heavily involved in the campaign, advising AICR for yonks.
So if the Voice, backed by the PM, every major sporting body, captains of industry, celebrities, and seasoned political operatives can’t beat a campaign run by Advance Australia, a group best known for its offensive ad campaigns, then what hope do they have?
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