The Lighter Note

Oils ain’t oils

To the outside world exchanging one lawyer’s office for another may not seem that much of a big deal, but we can’t help wondering if Perth’s money men are ready for what might hit them after the Australian Business Arts Foundation moved its WA HQ from Freehills’ office in QV1 to Blake Dawson’s digs in Exchange Plaza.

AbaF’s WA boss Henry Boston (pictured) is the man-about-town with a Rolodex (younger readers can look that one up) most would kill for, and has honed the ability of being seen everywhere to an art form of his very own. Nevertheless, even he can recognise the virtue of having a new theatre of operations after eight years in the resources-heavy ‘west end’.

Henry told a Note operative that Blake’s offices are in close proximity to numerous stockbrokers, corporate advisers and investment bankers, many of which are yet to succumb to the charms of supporting WA’s cultural sector.

A struggling artist at heart, The Note understands the need to change media occasionally even though working with oils can be so rewarding.

Tax break

After her government brushed off big storeowners’ demands that online overseas retailers should pay GST, Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week visited WA’s Kwinana grain terminal to highlight Canberra’s $135 million funding for the state’s rural rail network.

The terminal is owned and operated by farmer-owned cooperative CBH Group, which played host to the PM.

An astute reader might ask if that the same CBH which just won a long battle against the government to maintain its tax-exempt status? Well, of course it is.

The Note is heartened by the PM’s support for those who don’t pay tax – like any good Aussie, we hope this largesse is extended to all of us.