Barnaby Joyce quits university body to focus on David Littleproud

Nobody on the conservative side of politics has taken to the latest term of parliament with such gusto as Barnaby Joyce.

The Nationals MP is a backbencher in a 43-strong opposition years from power, but he has commanded the headlines since parliament’s return last month with his net zero revolt, had the press gallery eating out of his hand and impersonated a bull on live TV for some reason.

The moment Joyce was found sprawled on a Canberra pavement muttering profanities into his phone is well past, and the former deputy prime minister has quit the booze (although privately finds his new life a bit dull) and is, in the words of one-time Nationals leadership rival turned frenemy Michael McCormack, “virile”.

Meanwhile, Joyce appears to have cut down on other extracurricular activities. For the past two years, Joyce was a member of the University of New England’s Standing Committee of Convocation, an elected governance body representing staff and current and former students at his alma mater.

No longer – Joyce removed the role from his register of interests last week. The committee recently held elections for its next two-year term, and CBD hears Joyce wasn’t on the ballot, choosing to step aside and give someone else the opportunity.

David Littleproud probably wishes Barnaby gave up the Nationals leadership so easily. Joyce successfully toppled McCormack for that job in 2021, and is now reportedly ready to help Mic-Mac do the same to the current leader. With another climate war to kick off within the Coalition joint party room, and another Nats leader to topple, uni will have to wait.

Power couple

It’s been a big weekend for Australia’s biggest conservative power couple since the Liberal Party’s one-time Brangelina Marise Payne and Stuart Ayres went their separate ways.

Ex-University of Sydney stupol agitator Freya Leach, the face of the Zoomer right, kicked off her new Sky News show on Sunday night. Her husband, Cooper Gannon, was elected as the next NSW Young Liberal president during their weekend conference on the Central Coast.

Gannon was officially presented with the distinctive portrait of former Mackellar MP Jason Falinski, which is passed on to each new president as is NSW Young Liberal tradition.

Gannon’s predecessor, Georgia Lowden, wrote a stinging submission to the Liberal Party’s post-election struggle session, which wisely urged the party to give Sky News’ after-dark programming – where Peter Dutton spent far too long hiding from normal voters – a wide berth.

In return, some Sky News pundits such as Rowan Dean and Rita Panahi called the Young Libs “beta males and pathetic women”, which is all very classy.

But we’re sure the Young Liberals will get a better hearing on Leach’s new show, Freya Fires Up. The Murdoch-owned network, which broadcasts its after-dark offerings to about 15 very cranky geriatrics, is no doubt thrilled to have found another youthful voice to match the rizz of Caleb Bond, who broadcasts after Leach on Sunday night.

Stamping his authority

Terence Stamp, the British actor who starred as trans woman Bernadette in the hit film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, died at the weekend at the venerable age of 87, but he might still make another mark in Australian film.

Writer-director Stephan Elliott, who announced last year that he planned to make a sequel, took precautions given Stamp’s ill-health meant he might not be able to join co-stars Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving on set when the film is funded.

“They took him into a studio and had him shot from every angle digitally,” Priscilla’s Oscar-winning costume designer Tim Chappel told Herald film writer Garry Maddox this year. “He’s given permission that, if for some reason he doesn’t make it, he can still be in the film.”

Chappel said “a lot of the sequel is seen through Bernadette’s eyes, and she’s got early stages of dementia. But the happy dementia.” The bawdy tagline is “even old showgirls deserve a happy ending”.

Bill’s back

Former BRW Rich Lister, former bankrupt and former associate of Kerry Packer – Bill Ireland has been there, done that.

The irrepressible Ireland, now 75, is back raising money and says he has “a lot of energy left”.

A long time ago, in 2011, a debt-laden Ireland vowed to go into retirement and “sail a boat around the world”.

CBD can reveal that Ireland is raising money for his six-month-old AI-backed financial services business, which all sounds very zeitgeisty.

Ireland tells CBD his fledgling business, Equity Risk Exchange, is looking for $2 million as part of its first capital raising.

“There’s some private family money,” he says, declining to name names. “I’m not interested in listing it for a while.”

Ireland made his name by founding financial services business Challenger in the 1980s and soon landed on BRW’s Rich List worth an estimated $127 million. But he was booted out by the Packers after the business drew the attention of regulator APRA.

He then set up the Mariner Financial group, which went to ground in the wash-up of the GFC.

Ireland says he’s founded quite a few businesses. “Some were more successful than others.”

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