Юрист Ривка Гайлс переносит свадебные торжества в Италию: в Тоскане соберутся звезды австралийской политики и медиа

Opinion Arrivederci Sydney: Rebekah Giles moves wedding celebrations to Italy Last month, high-profile defamation solicitor Rebekah Giles and her property developer husband, Tim Price, drew a swarm of the most influential names from the nation’s legal, political and media circles for their Sydney Opera House wedding. But the celebrations didn’t end there. This week, CBD hears Giles and an assortment of friends and clients are set to take the wedding celebrations to Italy. Word in Sydney media circles is the solicitor’s longtime friend and high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, will be among the guests travelling to Italy for the knees-up in Tuscany later this week. Also expected to make the trip are a couple of Giles’ clients, including none other than Cate Sayers, more than a year after she was there with her kids and ex-husband Luke Sayers, the couple at the centre of the infamous phallic photo snafu over which Cate went on to sue Luke for defamation. One name we haven’t seen on the guest list but couldn’t help wondering about was fugitive property developer Jean Nassif – aka yellow Lamborghini guy, for the uninitiated – who left Australia for Lebanon a few years ago amid the collapse of his property development business Toplace. Before that, though, he launched defamation action back in 2020 against former 2GB host Ray Hadley over a series of broadcasts about Nassif’s residential developments. His lawyer? Giles. No doubt we’ll hear more about who travelled to party with Giles in coming days. Among the guests at the wedding were a contingent of media personalities, including Karl Stefanovic and his wife, Jasmine, as well as Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson, and the Seven network’s morning TV boss Sarah Stinson. With most of Sydney’s boldface names already sunning themselves in the Mediterranean, we’d wager Giles gets a good turn-out. Old friends Bad blood runs deep between ABC chairman Kim Williams and Chris Mitchell, the former editor-in-chief of The Australian. But the pair will have to find a way to play nice in a fortnight’s time, when they appear together on a media panel at Garma Festival alongside Barrie Cassidy and John Paul Janke. Mitchell was a destabilising force during Williams’ short reign as News Corp Australia boss, during which time the editor reportedly offered Rupert Murdoch an ultimatum over Williams’ reported interest in pursuing a digital-first strategy at the media giant. (Here we should disclose we have partially relied upon 2016 reporting from The Australian’s former media editor Darren “Lurch” Davidson, who in the intervening decade has masterfully failed upwards, to account for the saga. Which is to say it may be entirely inaccurate.) When we asked Mitchell whether he and Williams had since made good, the former editor who continues to write for the broadsheet directed us to a column “welcoming” Williams’ appointment as chairman. We found no such welcome. But Mitchell did write approvingly about Williams’ emphasis on fairness and impartiality in late 2024, only to give the ABC chairman a little drive-by in one of his columns just weeks ago. The subject, amusingly, was the staying power of printed newspapers. When we asked Williams the same question, the ABC chairman said the pair haven’t spoken since he left News in 2013. And he doesn’t read Mitchell’s column. Abbott’s book club Former prime minister Tony Abbott has had no trouble filling his diary since he was appointed to the federal Liberal Party presidency. Next up on the former prime minister’s schedule is an appearance alongside former fund manager-turned-author Kieran Kelly for the launch of his book on the relationship between Australia and the United States, set to go ahead at Manly Golf Club on Friday evening. The book includes interviews with a cast of big names. They include former prime minister John Howard, along with Kim Beazley and Bob Carr, as well as former federal treasurer Joe Hockey, and Mick Mulvaney, who served as White House chief of staff in US President Donald Trump’s first term. Abbott has been busy. He’s offered his name to a handful of party fundraising events. He’s also offered views on all manner of policy issues, from the immigration debate to matters more local, such as when he threw his support behind a Mosman community campaign to block the sale of HMAS Penguin. The frenzy of recent appearances has the publicists flogging Kelly’s new book floating the prospect of a return to public office. “Abbott is expected to face questions on the night about whether his renewed activity in the area signals a potential rematch with Steggall,” the media alert reads. 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.