Former Labor senator and Australia’s first Indigenous Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris appears to have suffered little consequence for sharing a series of deeply offensive social media posts about Muslims.
Peris was elected a director of Hockey Australia weeks after sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter) from an anonymous account calling Muslims “Satan worshipping cockroaches that need to be eradicated”.
At the time, Peris told this masthead she didn’t share the views in the post, and pointed out that the account in question had been deleted.
But that post, it seemed, was the tip of the iceberg. Earlier, Peris had shared a comment arguing that an Islamic prayer service “does not belong in this country”. She also reposted material saying that “Islam should be banned in the West”.
Peris has become known for her unflinching support for Israel during the ongoing Middle East conflict, which led to a falling out with Socceroo turned human rights activist Craig Foster while the pair were co-chairs of the Australian Republic Movement. Both left their positions, with the ARM turning to lower-profile leadership.
The ARM probably dodged a bullet there. Still, Peris continues to have a platform despite her recent social media activity. She’s slated to appear on stage next month in the Gold Coast at the Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism. Also appearing will be the Albanese government’s hand-picked antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal (you first read about her appointment in this column), who is demanding extraordinary power to strip funding from universities and cultural institutions under a contentious blueprint to fight antisemitism.
The conference counts Sydney business personality David Gonski among its organising committee members, as well as Orna Triguboff, daughter of the billionaire Meriton boss Harry Triguboff.
Would they reconsider Peris’ attendance in light of her posts, damaging as they are to the noble cause of social cohesion? We asked, but didn’t hear back.
Members beware
Barely recovered from their crushing federal election defeat in May, the NSW Liberals are already looking forward to their next date with the voters.
Last week, the division opened – and then promptly closed – candidate nominations for the 2027 state election. Aspiring state MPs hoping to join Mark Speakman’s (or his successor’s) opposition had just a few days to get their paperwork in order.
Given the party’s recent history of having preselections delayed until the 11th hour by juvenile, arcane factional disputes, getting the nominations in early is probably wise. But the tight deadline caught a few in the party off-guard, given just how much of Sydney’s posher locales are still enjoying Europe’s summer.
One person not caught by the quick turnaround for nominations was former federal MP Jenny Ware, who lost the once-safe southern Sydney seat of Hughes to Labor’s David Moncrieff at the federal poll in a result few insiders saw coming.
Nevertheless, Ware wants another crack at elected office, and we hear she is challenging Miranda MP Eleni Petinos for preselection. Petinos has a bit of baggage of her own. She was dumped from the ministry by then-premier Dom Perrottet after allegations that she bullied her staff.
Not to mention the finest piece of Petinos lore – the time she chundered in the back of former deputy premier John Barilaro’s ministerial chauffeur-driven car on the way back from State of Origin in 2017, an incident known as “barf-gate”.
Ware didn’t exactly set the backbench alight during her one term in Canberra. But that means she comes with mercifully less baggage than Petinos, which might give the good preselectors of the Sutherland Shire reason to move on.
Wedding bells in Woollahra
It’s a big CBD congratulations to Woollahra Mayor Sarah Swan, who tied the knot with her partner, Andrew Dixson, at All Saints’ Woollahra on Saturday.
Before succeeding former Liberal state director Richard Shields (who was booted from that job after failing to nominate candidates in last year’s local government elections), Swan was better known to readers of this masthead as one of the lawyers for eastern suburbs hairdresser Anthony Koletti.
Koletti, in turn, was better known to the general public as the husband of fraudster Melissa Caddick. He was back in the news last week after being charged with assaulting an elderly woman in Vaucluse.
No word, however, on whether Koletti showed up. Or whether the hairdresser, rumoured to have given the occasional blow dry on the house, did Swan’s hair.
Balling out
Netball’s plan for world domination was on the agenda during a long lunch at Melbourne Park’s Centrepiece on Saturday, before the Super Netball grand final at adjacent Rod Laver Arena. Among the 800 guests were Bridget McKenzie, Nationals senator and demon netballer, and actor Leah Purcell, who once got physical on the court with Australian netball great Vicky Wilson and hasn’t let anyone forget it.
Purcell is working on a teen TV drama about a group of girls gunning for the state championships, strategically timed to coincide with the 2027 World Cup in Australia. Speaking of strategic, also in the room was the Brisbane 2032 executive Brendan Keane. Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis made no secret of the sport’s Big Ambition, to get netty into the Olympics.
“We will push hard for Olympic inclusion,” Ellis said, urging everyone in the room to pledge their support for the cause. (McKenzie obliged.)
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