Danny celebrates NAIDOC Week

It's NAIDOC Week in Australia where (at least) 40,000 years of Indigenous culture is celebrated. That's a celebration for the oldest continuous inhabitants of anywhere on Earth let alone this vast continent. You can read much more about various events that will take place at the official website.
And look who's in town to celebrate !. The actor Danny Glover joined Aboriginal activists in Canberra. Well done Danny.

Malcolm's beach party

Whispers has been privileged to attend a shindig at Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull's exclusive Point Piper mansion (pictured above) . It was charity fundraising event and well before Malcolm was Prime  Minister, merely the local MP.

It's a splendorous house with magnificent harbor views and it's own tiny beach at the base of the garden. Now a small group of protestors have taken up residence on that beach to agitate about the controversial proposed Adani coal mine in Queensland which it's claimed will do untold damage to the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.
The freezing weather has driven off the protestors for the moment but I'm reliably informed that they have more plans to enliven life in genteel Point Piper- the most exclusive and expensive suburb in Australia. Meanwhile Mal & Lucy are residing at The Lodge (above right) in Canberra. It's freezing there as well. Not in the Lodge itself but Canberra. Winter in Canberra is something else. Life is just tough sometimes.

Overdose on Cartier

Naomi Watts looked sensational at the dinner to launch the Cartier exhibition in Canberra at the NGA.

The National Gallery of Australia’s next extraordinary exhibition featuring many of the world’s greatest jewels opens in Canberra on 30 March. Cartier: The Exhibition includes the tiara loaned to Catherine Middleton on her wedding day , a necklace worn by Her Majesty The Queen, Grace Kelly’s engagement ring and Elizabeth Taylor’s ruby and diamond necklace, along with some of the most exquisite pieces from the stunning Cartier Collection.

Below: at the Cartier dinner in Canberra: to launch the exhibition: Countess Zofia Krasicka v. Siecin, Lady Potter AC and Countess Primose Krasicka v. Siecin
For the uninitiated Countess Primose Krasicka is the former Primrose "Pitty Pat" Dunlop who featured in the madcap adventure in Venice when she and her fiance Prince Lorenzo Montesini arrived with the cream of Melbourne society in tow for the pair's expected marriage. At the very last minute Prince Lorenzo got cold feet and ran off with his best man and "life partner" Robert Straub. Straub and Montesini had met whilst doing their National Service during the Vietnam War.
You can read more of Primrose's adventures here.

A 15 year old Murdoch and the groom who eloped with his best man in Venice

Cartier fans and some of their jewels:
The Countess of Cambridge * HM The Queen* Elizabeth Taylor*Grace Kelly*Duchess of Windsor* Dame Nellie Melba

a message from the PM

Charles & Christa for the White House?

As Whispers was being ushered home from the rather splendid Twinnings Design Challenge the other night in leather luxury via the chauffeured Bentley of the artistic duo Charles & Christa Billich, the pair told us of their plans to visit New York in the near future. It seems Charles has an exhibition lined up at the United Nations building in the Big Apple.

Christa & Charles at the Twinnings party

The pair had also just returned from Canberra where the Cuban ambassador had laid on a splendid dinner for the pair. They have just been to Havana and were somewhat of a hit among the locals. Charles is also hoping to present US president Donald Trump with a painting . Will it be one of Charles' tasteful nudes? Perhaps one of Christa. It would surely be to The Don's taste and would make a terrific talking point if it were hung in the Oval Office. Just imagine the discussions Trump could have with the Russian ambassador!

We felt we had to warn Charles of the incident when decades ago Trump commissioned a painting from the late Andy Warhol, of his splendorous Trump Tower. Warhol duly presented the portrait of three Trump Towers in typical Warhol colours. Trump was unimpressed particularly as the picture was based on a Polaroid camera snap (as were all Andy's portraits) and besides, he wanted the tower to be gold just like everything in his palace. He refused to accept the painting or pay for it. Let's hope Charles has more luck. Just to remind folks of Charles at work we present Whispers' video taken last year at the Billich Gallery.

Dirty Dancing!

Our exclusive photographs of PM Tony Abbott getting down and boogying at last night's Christmas Party at Parliament House. What a groover !

Missing In Action

On Wednesday November 5th (one day after the Melbourne Cup) a memorial service will be held for the late Gough Whitlam the former Prime Minister who died at age 98.
                                               

Word is buzzing around town that the venue, the Sydney Town Hall will not be nearly big enough for the crowds expected from former PMs, the current PM Tony Abbott , a host of show business faces and business names to ordinary members of the public including a large contingent of Indigenous Australians.
Former Fairfax scribe Mike Carlton has been on the blower to some Labor Party heavies and is  trying to organise a live TV link to the old Parliament House in Canberra to host an expected few hundred more mourners.
While Gough's extended family will be attendance one family member will miss the service Andrew Esteban Romero Whitlam is Gough's "adopted" son although it's never been confirmed by the late Whitlam if he actually adopted the Argentinian.
Baci as he is known to pals whipped up dresses in a Double Bay boutique for society ladies for a number of years before joining his family restaurant business in Rushcutters Bay.
It was there as we reported back in February that Baci was busted in an undercover sting while attempting to sell cocaine to police. He was sentenced to two years jail. Above is the only photo taken of the late Gough Whitlam and Baci together.

Gina's Pals in Canberra

Gina Rinehart was in Canberra yesterday to cheer on her pal Barnaby Joyce MP as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and via their photograph on the left.
But who accompanied Gina to Parliament House?.

Imelda & Bill Roche

On the left is her daughter Ginia and on the right is Imelda Roche.
Imelda and her husband Bill bought a franchise for the struggling US  Nutrimetics company in 1968 and in 1992, they bought the company lock stock and barrel and then re-sold it for a fortune in 1997 having built up revenue to over $250M a year. Imelda's wealth is estimated to be almost $1B so she's a relative pauper compared to Gina with $22B but she and hubby Bill still live in style in a magnificent harbour side penthouse in Woolloomooloo opposite the Finger Wharf and on a huge estate- regarded as about the finest there, in the Hunter Valley.

Election News : PM Tony Abbott Outed !

PM Tony can barely hide his excitement

He has just taken the reigns after a concerted media campaign led by the American billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch and now the Shuttle brings you exclusive news : far from being a Philistine troglodyte who will roll us back into the 1950s as his critics claim, PM Tony Abbott is a fan of the arts !

The gilded couple Charles Billich & wife Krista who regularly fly exited social hacks around the world to breathlessly report on their glittering soirees at upmarket venues like the Playboy Mansion in LA , have presented a grateful Prime Minister with a gorgeous work of art that only our Charles can produce. Will it hang in The Lodge like other rare Billich works hang in The Vatican and other grand mansions?  And is it a fetching nude, perhaps of Krista draped over a chaise lounge legs akimbo ?  . Is this the first step for an exciting exhibition of Billich prints at the National Gallery in Canberra ?. Will Sir Les Patterson emerge from retirement ? Clearly a New Era for The Yartz is upon us.  Exciting times ahead. !   

Julia's Terminator Ally

Still reeling from the great MenuGate scandal , Julia Gillard at least has a friend in former California governor Arnie Schwarzenegger who was in Canberra this morning and met with the PM.

Although a Republican Arnie implemented a carbon pricing scheme in California to reduce emissions, in almost identical fashion to the one imposed by Labor.

We Stand Corrected

It's the riot that keeps giving.......
 
Several missives arrive taking the Shuttle to task for claiming the famous missing show belonging to Prime Minister Julia Gillard was a Mixxy shoe designed by one of the USA's top fashionistas Betsey Johnson.

The shoe appeared for sale briefly on Ebay today before the advert was pulled.

In fact the shoe was a Midas brand with the name GLORIFY as featured in our snap below and it sells for a hefty $A148 and not the mere $US87 that the Mixxy sells for.

And quick off the mark we spot this sales pitch for the famous Glorify  on the Midas website :

	GLORIFY Classic pump outline medium heel wedge. Super soft suede all leather lined available in black and navy. Perfect for the office, political escapes and finding the burley bodyguard of your dreams.  !!!!

It's Love.....

As the video and pictures sweep around the world.....Prime Minister Julia Gillard clinging to a minder and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott being bustled out of a Canberra restaurant surrounded by dozens of policemen and being attacked by....err....what looks like a chubby elderly Aboriginal gent and a large Hippie style woman, the hard questions are being asked..

who is the bodyguard ?

The race is on to discover the name of the handsome public servant. Just look at some of the comments from the UK's MailOnline:

Her Body guard can protect me any time!! Coorrrr!!!

- lucylooselegs, Me casa, 26/1/2012 22:29

Wow! Her personal security guard is hot!

- Saulle Dinne, London, UK, 26/1/2012 22:26

Sweet Holy Mother of God, I am so in love - how can we find out who that bodyguard is ????

- Mary, Leinster, 26/1/2012 22:12

Sorry, I know this is serious, but holy crap that body guard is GORGEOUS!

- Sue, Galway, 26/1/2012 22:08

Ooooo.....i'd have a cling as well, he's one tasty bodyguard!!! Lol ;-)- lilylitebug , west midlands , 26/1/2012 22:06

Blimey, I would have clung to him too, he's gorgeous........- Paula, Cheshire, 26/1/2012 22:55

Any excuse to cling on to your bodyguard...eh Jules..??- Sam, Dubai, 26/1/2012 23:07

I'd cling to her body guard too if I had the chance.. Crowds or no crowds...- Sarah, Newcastle, 26/1/2012 21:41

He can come and guard me any day.- Jane, London, 26/1/2012 21:31

ooooh errr I would like him to rescue me too. mmmmmmmmm- Me , Here, 26/1/2012 21:21

That guard is enjoying every moment of it.....ha ha ha- Anita, Nairobi, Kenya, 26/1/2012 22:12

Some History On Her Maj

On the day our Sovereign, Elizabeth 11 ( aka Queen of Australia ) arrives in Canberra (note to various TV and tabloid journalists-you know who you are- it's HM The Queen, not HRH The Queen) for her sixteenth visit we bring a nice film we have uncovered of her first visit Down Under in 1954.

She must be dedicated to her subjects. Five days in Canberra?. Better her than me.