Jazz guys
Utah Governor Spencer Cox burst onto the international stage last month after conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk was assassinated in the Beehive State. Cox’s calls for a calmer, more respectful debate and labelling of social media as a “cancer” were widely reported.
The governor has landed in Australia, where he was a guest at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney this week.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who came with an 80-strong entourage, was rather charming. Credit: AP
Dozens of resources sector types were out in force at the event, held at the ICC Sydney, and feeling rather ebullient. This week’s announcement of a $13 billion critical minerals with the Trump administration during Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to Washington DC was good news for local mining companies, whose share prices soared over the past few days.
Less chuffed were media organisations, whose access to Cox was snubbed by the organisers, despite much anticipation and distribution of his detailed itinerary. But CBD’s spies hear that the governor, who came with an 80-strong entourage, was rather charming, although he spoke only for about five minutes in total across two separate appearances.
He did, however, have time for one of Australia’s richest men. CBD hears that Cox is meeting with billionaire Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes during his time in Sydney. Despite his recent purchase of a swanky new private jet, Mike claims to be more of a clean energy kinda guy.
Cannon-Brookes has deep ties to Utah. Atlassian has employees in the state and is hoping to buy DX, an engineering intelligence firm based there. Also, Cannon-Brookes is a minority owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz. His (soon-to-be) ex-wife Annie Cannon-Brookes also has family in the state.
Guild guys
Most pharmacists seem relatively unassuming.
Put a few of them together and you get one of Australia’s most feared lobbying behemoths. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia fights hard for its members, courts both sides of politics, and come sitting weeks, sends its yellow and black-tied lobbyists to descend on Canberra and Macquarie Street like a swarm of bees.
No surprises, then, that the guild’s annual awards event at NSW Parliament House on Wednesday night was like a honeypot for the political class, with more than 50 parliamentarians, including ministers and shadow ministers from across the aisle, packing the room to celebrate community pharmacy, and um, protect their necks.
“The truth is we’re all too scared not to be here,” Health Minister Ryan Park jokingly said.
Also among the speakers was Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane (who is still not beating the “future leader” allegations) and the Nationals’ shadow minister for regional health Gurmesh Singh, who all handed out awards, and offered praise for the Guild’s work.
“We will continue to work with the guild around making sure we can deliver better health services for our communities, and we will continue to support you as an organisation because … you support community and communities is what we’re all about,” Park gushed.
The dark days of 2023, when the guild was at war with the Albanese government over 60-day scripts, seem long forgotten, albeit a reminder of what pharmacists can do when they get fired up. A ceasefire was reached, but only after the Gguild had managed to negotiate an extra $3 billion for pharmacists.
Little wonder that Wednesday’s event was a rare moment of bipartisan unity. When the guild calls, Macquarie Street always answers.
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