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14 Jun 2022

David Cameron enjoys superyacht party; Graham Richardson’s restaurant deal leaves a sour taste│The Australian

By YONI BASHAN and CHRISTINE LACY

No shortage of pleasure craft floating upon Sydney Harbour during the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, but the most exclusive tub of them all must have been the Italian-built superyacht Shadow, owned by Finsure boss John Kolenda and loaned out for a private party with ex-British prime minister David Cameron.

Cameron is in Sydney for a three-day National Conservative Climate Conference being held at Taronga Zoo, which – according to the invitation – will draw together Coalition MPs, policymakers, think-tankers and others for deep discussion of all things clean and green.

But the yacht party, organised by NSW Environment Minister James Griffin, was merely a pre-game for the more focused refreshments with Cameron at Point Piper’s Royal Motor Yacht Club later in the evening.

We’re told the dress code aboard Shadow was also rather specific: smart casual, to be sure, but those lining up at the Rushcutters Bay jetty were informed shoes would be verboten on deck, with slippers to be provided. (Margin Call is aware of an identical policy in place for at least one Australian billionaire’s refurbished Gulfstream).

Attendees on board included Vicki Treadell, the British High Commissioner to Australia, Nationals MP Kevin Hogan, South Australian Senator Andrew McLachlan, NSW upper house MLC Scott Farlow, as well as Kolenda, who played host.

The Finsure co-founder and CEO started his career with Aussie Home Loans in the early 1990s and later branched off into the mortgage aggregating sector. He is also a managing director at MA Financial.

Meanwhile, Cameron is said to be staying at Taronga’s on-site eco-retreat for the next few evenings and will be delivering a speech at the conference on ­topics including AUKUS, post-Brexit relations and energy security.

Perhaps most salient for attending MPs will be Cameron’s remarks on how centre-right parties can rebuild after defeat, and how conservatives in the UK have taken ownership of progressive climate policy.

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