NSW Liberals forget Muslim members in Ramadan meeting snafu

Not long after Senator Pauline Hanson shamelessly tried to raise the question of whether there are “good Muslims”, NSW Liberal MP Mark Coure issued a statement criticising the nauseating remarks.

Coure, the NSW opposition multiculturalism spokesman, called the comments “offensive” and said they were “completely inconsistent” with Australian values before going on to say Muslim Australians were an “integral part of the fabric of NSW”.

Well, the state director of the NSW Liberal Party Chris Stone would’ve done well to take note. Because it looks like Muslim members weren’t considered before the party went ahead and scheduled its Barton federal electorate conference re-formation meeting during Ramadan.

It wasn’t until after invitations had gone out that the party realised there was a clash. Stone then promptly emailed members ahead of the meeting, which was set to go ahead last Tuesday, that it would be postponed.

“Further to my email below, I have received a number of emails from members alerting us to the fact that the Barton FEC re-formation meeting has been scheduled to take place during Ramadan and at a time that many of our members are enjoying iftar dinners with their friends and families,” Stone wrote in the email, seen by CBD.

“So as to not inconvenience any members during this important cultural period, I am cancelling the meeting and will reschedule it to take place in due course.”

On one estimate, there are about 100 Liberal Party members of the Muslim faith in Barton, party sources told CBD. At the very least, said one of the sources, the failure to consider the holy period before blasting out invitations makes for bad optics. Worse still, it threatens to damage ties between the party and its Muslim members.

For its part, the NSW Liberal Party leadership schedules dozens of meetings a year, and it often reschedules things when there’s a clash, according to a source familiar with the organisation’s planning. All told, the source said, the scheduling mishap was nothing more than an administrative error.

We guess we’ll have to wait and see if the party’s members agree.

Airwallex in league with Dons

Over the past couple of years, senior figures at the Australian-founded financial services company Airwallex haven’t always loved the way the company has been covered in the press. So you could say one way to build a positive narrative around the company is to tip cash into things the average person loves and cares about.

Enter Essendon Football Club, with which Airwallex has struck a sponsorship deal that is expected to be announced by the AFL club on Tuesday morning, according to a source familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information. Airwallex didn’t respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

The deal adds to a string of sporting tie-ups struck by Airwallex over the past few years. So far, these have included a partnership with the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team and the English Premier League club Arsenal. No word yet on the length or terms of its deal with Essendon, but we don’t expect it to be small.

Melbourne mayor calls on Perth mayor to settle his debt

Politicians love a bit of sports cosplay, no doubt in pursuit of the faintest whiff of relatability.

Former PM Scott Morrison was (is?) allegedly a Cronulla Sharks fan. Then there was that haunting photo of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian standing in a room, blinds drawn, clad in NSW Blues merch, holding a sugar-free can of Coke. A classic of the genre.

For the latest in a long lineage of these political bits, we turn your attention to a bet made between Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece and Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds over the State of Origin AFL game clinched by Victoria last month.

In a letter dated February 24, Reece wrote to his West Australian counterpart, calling on him to read an attached statement of apology from the City of Perth to the City of Melbourne, on the record at a council meeting, to settle his debt.

“To begin, allow us to renew our apology regarding coffee. Melbourne’s cafes remain the international gold standard. In Melbourne, every latte arrives like a Renaissance masterpiece etched in foam. Sure, Fremantle has the renowned Cappuccino Strip, but much like our performance in this year’s State of Origin, it’s clear that we can’t compete with the big leagues. We acknowledge defeat. Please send help – and training manuals,” Reece wrote in the attached apology, seen by CBD.

Reece went on to prompt Reynolds to call Melbourne’s arts scene “simply dazzling”, and to heap praise on the city’s “very cool” tram network (questionable), before setting him up on goods and services tax distribution.

“We acknowledge that Western Australia, through a mysterious blend of economic and political luck has received what some might call an overly generous share of GST revenue. Others would rightly call it downright unfair,” Reece wrote.

“So, Melbourne and Victoria, please accept our sincere and grovelling apologies for Western Australia’s unjustifiable fiscal good fortune. I promise to do everything in my power to fix the unfair GST arrangements. The current arrangements are completely unsustainable and I will lead the charge here in the west, to get these crooked arrangements made good. I acknowledge that the future of our federation depends on it.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.