Are Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch expanding their Bellevue Hill property empire?

Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch are not ones to quietly brag about their property purchases, preferring to keep such things undisclosed behind the names of associates and trusts – at least until curious property watchers, such as your nosy columnists, lose interest.

Given that, and in the absence of any official comment from their quarter, we can’t confirm they were the $21 million buyers of the 1930s mansion Fernlee in Bellevue Hill.

But if you were to lay a bet, the odds look good. The commanding hillside residence is perched in prime position directly in front of the Murdochs’ Le Manoir estate, where News Corp’s royal couple host a who’s who of Australian business, media and political elites at their annual Christmas bash.

It’s also flanked by a couple of other houses the Murdochs have quietly picked up over the years given their potential to offer a bird’s-eye view into Le Manoir.

The family trophy home has been taking shape since 2009 when the former French consulate was picked up for what was then an auction record of $23 million. An $11.6 million renovation followed from 2011-2014, and they’ve added a couple of the neighbouring houses for $2.63 million and $4.4 million. They then added a house next door for $2.63 million a year later, purchased in the name of a trust, and another in 2016 for $4.4 million.

What we do know is Fernlee, the long-held home of late Hong Kong medicos Robert and Katherine Yiu, was sold for a tad more than $21 million to an “expat living overseas” in August. The price was $7 million over the original guide, thanks to a fairly aggressive bidding war at a private auction.

It was purchased in the name of a trust, with the sale contract signed by a lawyer. The same trust was used by the Murdochs to buy a $38.5 million boat shed at the foot of Wunulla Road in Point Piper, where CBD recently reported the couple were planning to build a new driveway.

Anyway, while all eyes turned to the Murdochs, their representatives made a polite, but firm, no comment.

But if it walks like a duck …

Bridget’s back

SPOTTED: Former Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer back in Parliament House on Thursday, sitting alone on a couch but getting a friendly wave from teal independent Allegra Spender.

Archer, who earned the ire of some of her more conservative colleagues thanks to a penchant for crossing the floor (most recently to vote against the Albanese government’s teenage social media ban), lost her Tasmanian seat of Bass in the May massacre.

Among the loudest voices accusing Archer of disloyalty was fellow Tasmanian Liberal Gavin Pearce, who threatened to withhold his own preselection for the neighbouring seat of Braddon unless she was pushed out.

He ultimately decided not to recontest. But the pair have been happily reunited at the Tasmanian cabinet table, drafted by Premier Jeremy Rockliff to run at the state’s recent snap election. Archer is now health minister, while Pearce holds the primary industries and water portfolios. Despite all the muttering about disloyalty, she’s had a softer landing than most vanquished Liberals.

As for Archer’s Canberra return, we hear she was in town for meetings with federal ministers related to her portfolio.

Possum magic

Have we gone completely mad?

Attitudes of the Australian polity at large towards possums might not be top of mind for most regular readers. Many might dismiss the protected Australian natives – the common brushtail possum and common ringtail possum – as something of a public nuisance. It is true that possums get a bad rap: they can sabotage power lines and cause blackouts, possibly transmit the Buruli ulcer and other diseases, get into scraps with pets, get into ceilings, get down chimneys and into lounge rooms and poo on TV sets.

We admit we are showing our biases.

But for the greater good, Wildlife Health Australia and the University of Melbourne have united to eradicate these deep-seated cultural biases with a new publication: Possums: A Public Health Communication Guide.

“Possums are not pests, nor are they feral species. They are protected native Australian marsupials,” the guide notes. “Balanced communication ensures relevant public health information is paired with information highlighting the inherent value of native possums and discourages stigmatising language,” it continues.

The guide decries the use of “us versus them” language when writing about the native animals, and advises journalists to avoid using fear-inducing or emotional language when talking about possums. The checklist of words the guide suggests should be avoided include: pests, vermin, disease spreading, nuisance animals, dangerous and destructive.

Instead, the guide suggests we should “promote coexistence with possums” using the following words: native, ecologically significant, protected, unique urban adaptors, charismatic and diverse.

It’s been quite the week for the University of Melbourne, with the release of this guide, the announcement chemistry professor Richard Robson won the Nobel Prize – and being named the top-ranked university in the Times Higher Education rankings, coming in at 37th.

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