The storied house,held by the family of nightclub ownersAndrew andHelen Andrews since the 1960s,will now get a full makeover. Zhang and his wifeMei Pengwon approval last week to bulldoze the property,and turn it into a concrete box in the style beloved of the nouveau riche.
But hey,at least it comes with a spa,meditation room,cinema,Western and Chinese style dining rooms,Koi pond,and quarters for the housekeepers.
Zhang isn’t the only ultra-rich Chinese businessman on the street – influential philanthropistChau Chak Wing hoovered upJames Packer’s old mansion down the road for $70 million in 2015.
Geek hydrogen
The journey to a carbon-free future has thrown up some interesting partnerships,but the latest recruits to iron-ore billionaireAndrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s green hydrogen operation Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) are something else.
The company has launched an online campaign “What the green hydrogen” featuring the US cult cartoon double act Rick and Morty,from the eponymous animated TV show documenting the surreal adventures of alcoholic mad scientistRick Sanchez and his anxious grandsonMorty – landing just in time for its sixth season.
It’s a truly bizarre act of what can only be described as “geek-washing,” and probably a sign of either the show’s diminished cultural cache in an age of peak television,or the tremendous power of Twiggy’s billions – or a bit of both.
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But at least it all comes with a dose of self awareness.
“Before we join forces to save the planet,there’s something you should know about us. We’re owned by a mining company. A really big one. Called Fortescue,” the campaign’s website reads.
“It is one of the largest iron ore extractors in the world,and it is also a heavy carbon emitter. But the planet isn’t going to be saved by a bamboo toothbrush company. It’s a little late for that.”
Instead,it might be saved by cartoons and mining magnates,apparently.
Battle in the swamp
Townsfolk in the coastal hamlet of Harmers Haven on Victoria’s wild Bass Coast were relieved back in 2014 when a group of “environmentally sensitive locals” – including then ACTU presidentGed Kearney and her partner and fellow trade unionistLeigh Hubbard – bought a block of land for $325,000.
The 1.3-hectare swamp paperbark block,which adjoins the Yallock-Bullock Marine and Coastal Park,had been the subject of numerous redevelopment attempts over the decades and locals hoped the Kearney-Hubbard group would be content to leave well enough alone.
But some around the locale are not so thrilled after Kearney,now Assistant Aged Care Minister in the Albanese government,and her fellow investors applied to subdivide part of the land into two residential blocks.
Kearney declined to comment but directed CBD to a statement made to local mediaThe Bass Coast Post from one of her fellow ownersDave Lane.
The longtime Harmers Haven local said the owners’ plans for the site included a binding covenant that would keep the swamp intact for perpetuity,and the clearing of invasive species that cover much of the plot,with minimal impact on the local population or amenity.
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But Bass Coast Shire councillors were unconvinced and knocked back the plan in April after a meeting of the Harmers Haven Residents and Ratepayer Association voted against the application.
Kearney and co are not taking the council’s decision lying down. They’re off to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal to have it overturned,in what promises to be a lively matter,given the level of local interest in the block.
Stay tuned for updates.
Apology
An earlier version of this article reported that Chau Chak Wing was
a “Beijing-aligned philanthropist”. The SMH did not intend to suggest that Dr
Chau was working with or beholden to the Chinese Communist Party. We
apologise to Dr Chau for any hurt and embarrassment.
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