Disgraced surgeon offloads luxury Sydney Harbour penthouse

Disgraced surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis recently lost his defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes (all owned by Nine, publisher of this masthead).

The Federal Court ruled Al Muderis was dishonest and callous and prioritised fame and money over patient care.

Al Muderis has filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Court, so the matter is not over and the lawyers, presumably, still have to be paid.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but the surgeon’s luxury Milsons Point apartment has just been put on the market.

According to the property listing, the spread located in the prestigious Blue at Lavender Bay building (if you know, you know) promises luxurious craftsmanship and a “dynamic sense of life inside the penthouse”.

Photographs of the interiors reveal a Trumpian abundance of polished chrome and golden fittings. Al Muderis bought the pied-a-terre off the plan for $10.5 million in 2018.

At the time, he was described as a “Milsons Point local who fled Iraq in the final days of last century” and “one of the world’s leading osteo-integration surgeons”. That’s not how he’s described any more.

The real estate agent managing the property did not return CBD’s calls (weird!) but the website Property Seeker puts the asking price at $15 million.

Al Muderis’ lawyer told CBD, in response to inquiries: “Please also note the sale of the property has nothing to do with payment of legal fees”.

Still, it’s always nice to be liquid.

A very Cranbrook inauguration

After a tumultuous few years, prestigious Bellevue Hill private school Cranbrook will be hoping for a smooth and scandal-free transition into co-education in 2026.

The century-old Anglican boys school has appointed Anne Johnstone as its first female head, and she was inducted into the role in an elaborate ceremony in front of 1476 guests last week.

The presidential-style inauguration was held in the school’s Centenary Hall on the first floor of the $125 million Vicars Centenary Building. Not everyone could squeeze into the assembly auditorium, with the event live-streamed to junior school students. We’re sure they found it riveting.

Johnstone, former head of north shore private girls’ school Ravenswood, stepped into the role after former headmaster Nicholas Sampson sensationally resigned, and a governance crisis led to the departure of one-time school council president Jon North and a mass board exodus.

Guests at Johnstone’s induction included Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel, school council president Geoff Lovell, vice president Amelia Salter, and high-profile banker and chairman of Barrenjoey Private Capital Guy Fowler, who is also the former chair of Ravenswood’s council.

Barker College principal Phillip Heath (Sydney’s co-ed private school guru) was there, along with Kincoppal principal Erica Thomas and private boys’ school headmasters Knox Grammar’s Scott James and Trinity’s Tim Bowden.

CBD can confirm even North was spotted in attendance.

We hear the year 7 and 11 girls intake is full, and under co-education director Daisy Turnbull, plans for the co-ed switch are in full swing.

Amid so much historic change and the dizzying business of admitting young women, this column takes comfort that some things don’t change: the school’s seemingly never-ending upgrades show no signs of slowing down, with plans for a $4 million upgrade of its Furber and Carter Bishop buildings lodged with Woollahra Council.

It’s nice to know some Cranbrook traditions are still very much alive.

Albo’s tropical faux pas

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is rarely one to put a fashion foot wrong.

Even when he apparently loses, he wins in a kinda endearing, bloke-of-the-people way. (Recall his Ugg boots, Peter Alexander rabbit-motif pyjamas and Newtown Jets popped-collar footy jersey when emerging from his Marrickville home to grab the morning papers days after his 2022 election victory).

But PM31 was caught in an awkward fashion faux pas on Wednesday night when he turned up to the Pacific Resilience Facility treaty signing at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara.

Albo walked in with lips pursed sporting a red-and-white tropical-style short-sleeved shirt that screamed Sunday arvo beers and snags on the barbie.

He stood out like a sore thumb because every other leader at the forum was wearing a sober dark blue batik shirt.

The diplomatic awkwardness didn’t last, with the PM excusing himself from the gathering and quickly reappearing in a shirt that matched the other Pacific leaders.

We reached out to the PM’s team for an explanation for this geopolitical awkwardness but got nowhere.

New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon had his own theory, offering the wry explanation that he thought Albanese just “forgot the instructions”.

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