It was about 20 years ago Ryan bought a historic property, Limerick Lane, in the area, and accepted an invitation from then premier John Brumby to redevelop a down-at-heel caravan park on the west side of Lake Nagambie into Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park.
Gerry Ryan at his brewery and distillery by Lake Nagambie.Credit:Scott McNaughton
But Ryan has made one decision that goes against his devotion to his favourite regional town. CBD has learnt that last year Ryan offloaded the Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park last year to the G’day Group. Sources wouldn’t confirm the price, but we hear it was in the range of $20 million. Sadly, when we contacted him, Ryan was not forthcoming about why he made the sale, even though he gushed over the sheer theatrical excitement of Moulin Rouge.
G’day Group owns Discovery Holiday Parks, the largest regional accommodation provider in Australia with more than 300 properties under the Discovery Parks and G’day Parks brands.
It has purchased more than a dozen properties since January last year. G’day Group is run by Grant Wilckens, who left corporate finance about 15 years ago harbouring an ambition to “make holiday parks cool again” by bringing “a touch of luxury” to the sector with cabins, lagoon pools, jumping pillows, waterparks and also safari tents. Clearly a long-term project.
FIRST RESPONDER
It’s one thing for a Coalition government to be rocked by allegations of inappropriate behaviour and relationships between ministers and staff. But another consideration is the cost of the mop up job.
Take a recent contract handed to the government’s go-to investigator Vivienne Thom. A formidable former inspector-general of intelligence and security, Thom last week wrapped up an inquiry into the matters raised by former federal Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller.
Inquisitor-in-chief Vivienne Thom says she’d love to do a job where people are pleased to see her.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
In a Four Corners′ expose, Miller lifted the lid on her affair with then-human services minister Alan Tudge. In December, Miller added to her claims, alleging (among other things) that Tudge had been emotionally and physically abusive. Tudge has repeatedly rejected the allegations. Nonetheless, Thom was sicced onto the probe by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in December.
To be fair, she’s got impressive form in the field of very delicate issues. Guernseys include an independent inquiry into allegations of predatory behaviour by former High Court judge Dyson Heydon and another probe into expenses racked up by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s former chairman, James Shipton, and his deputy, Daniel Crennan.
Perhaps it’s no surprise then that the veteran Canberran told the AFR last year: “I’d love to do a job soon when I walk in and people say, ‘I am so pleased to see you.’” Heck, us too Vivienne.
If the work is hard going, at least the pay is good. Government tender documents reveal Thom took home $44,325 for the Tudge inquiry which spanned six weeks from December 14 to January 31 of this year. And a two-year contract with the Department of Defence, which kicked off in November 2020 and is covered by iron-clad confidentiality and defence secrecy provisions, is worth $616,000.
Of course, it’s well known that Thom was appointed in 2020 to lead a three-person panel working with Defence chiefs to help implement recommendations from an inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. A task to make everything else seem like light work.
POWER LUNCH
SPOTTED: Occupying a not-so-quiet table for four at a Sydney restaurant on Tuesday were a quartet of Labor titans. Former prime minister Paul Keating along with former NSW premier Bob Carr – no less – together with former foreign minister Gareth Evans and veteran Labor frontbencher John Faulkner.
With mouth-watering treats like golden syrup dumplings, it’s no wonder the Labor quad chose Ursula’s.Credit:Edwina Pickles
The four were enjoying themselves and a lunch at power eatery Ursula’s in Sydney’s Paddington. The quartet were all in casual attire – apart from Carr – in a pin-striped suit and tie. Some things never change!
And in their later years, the pugnacious crew still know how to make an impression. “It was akin to witnessing Bigfoot riding the Loch Ness monster,” a fellow patron told CBD. We’ll take their word for it.
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