Backlash as ex-Mamamia editor says the quiet part out loud about Luca Lavigne's rise… Plus, Constance Hall's major legal defeat: INSIDE MAIL

Another one bites the dust

Constance Hall's life of chaos is endlessly paraded on Instagram – but there's one recent mini catastrophe that hasn't popped up on her followers' feeds this month.

Inside Mail can reveal the corporate arm of legendary British rock band Queen has successfully stripped the influencer of her Queen the Label trademark after launching a legal challenge against the registration.

In a decision handed down earlier this month, the Australian Trade Marks Office ordered the trademark be removed from the register after finding Hall failed to prove it had been properly used during the relevant period.

To be clear, this was not a trademark infringement fight over Hall's use of the word 'Queen'. Instead, Queen Productions Limited – the company that manages the band's intellectual property rights – successfully argued the trademark should be cancelled for non-use.

Simply put, Hall, who has long referred to herself and her followers as 'Queens', failed to convince trademark officials that she, or an authorised user, had properly used the mark.

Such actions are a common way for brand owners to clear potentially conflicting trademarks from the register, often achieving much the same commercial outcome as a successful legal challenge over ownership rights.

The ruling is the latest blow for Hall's fashion ambitions.

The corporate arm of legendary rock band Queen has successfully stripped the influencer of her Queen the Label trademark after launching a legal challenge against the registration

Hall (above, with husband Denim) said the brand had never been abandoned, but trademark officials weren't convinced the business' use of the trademark counted as use by Hall herself 

Her Queen the Label business, which sold clothing, accessories and eyewear, was operated through Queen Biz Pty Ltd, a company Hall co-owned with her brother-in-law Robert Pisano.

The company entered voluntary administration in 2024, with Jimmy Trpcevski of WA Insolvency Solutions appointed administrator, according to an ASIC notice.

Hall said at the time she no longer had the cash to pay off her debts.

'It's broken my heart. I started the brand on revenue from my books and to have nothing left is a really tough pill to swallow,' she told followers.

'I feel like one of those clichés that wins lotto and then has nothing left a decade later.'

Hall maintained the brand had never been abandoned, but trademark officials weren't convinced the business' use of the trademark counted as use by Hall herself.

As a result, the Queen the Label mark will be removed from Australia's trademark register, handing a win to the band's corporate empire and leaving Hall without legal ownership of the brand name she once built a business around.

With the company already in administration, the trademark ruling looks less like a legal setback and more like the final nail in Queen the Label's coffin.

Earlier this week, Hall's attention was fixed firmly on the Middle East, revealing on Instagram that she and her husband had commemorated their support for Palestine with matching tattoos

Of course, Hall doesn't seem too bothered about being dethroned.

Earlier this week, her attention was fixed firmly on the Middle East, revealing on Instagram that she and husband Denim had commemorated their support for Palestine with matching tattoos.

Hall opted for the comparatively restrained 'FREE PALESTINE'. Denim, meanwhile, went with the, er, less nuanced: 'F*** JIZZRAEL'.

Woke up with Today?

• Opinion by media commentator and former executive producer Rob McKnight 

You've heard the old saying 'go woke, go broke'.

One well-trodden theory for The Project's demise was that it started skewing so far to the left that viewers deserted the Ten show, leading to its eventual cancellation.

Well, the folks at Today Extra don't seem to have heeded that lesson, with presenters David Campbell and Belinda Russell continuing to express anti-Pauline Hanson views.

This is despite her strong polling that would make any senior producer pause.

During a recent hot topics discussion with Jane Caro and Brendan Jones, Jones made reference to the possibility of Hanson or Barnaby Joyce running the country.

'Give us some better options,' Russell chimed in, to much laughter.

Media commentator Rob McKnight asks if the young, left-leaning producers running Today Extra risk alienating viewers. (Pictured: Today Extra host Belinda Russell) 

While it's refreshing to hear some actual opinions on morning TV instead of the usual milquetoast fence-sitting, Russell's dismissive references to One Nation put her at odds with many voters – and viewers – who view the party as a serious alternative to Labor and the Coalition.

This isn't a criticism of Russell, who is entitled to her views, but the polls underscore why the casting of these debate segments has never been more important.

Everyone on the panel that day seemed to be left-leaning, meaning there was no alternative viewpoint.

That may one day become a concern behind the scenes of Australia's second-placed morning show, which has a team of young producers who, I am told, hold predominantly left-wing views. Sources say editorial choices could reflect a shared viewpoint of those working on the show.

Of course, TV producers – just like presenters – are entitled to their political opinions and it's hardly surprising that tertiary-educated media professionals living in big cities like Sydney and Melbourne shoot from the left hip.

But it could potentially become a problem if it leads to programs leaning into a left-wing narrative that doesn't connect with the generally older free-to-air audience.

There should always be space made for left-leaning commentary – it would be foolish not to, given we have a democratically elected Labor government. But this Today Extra panel was stacked with those voices.

Simply put, it was unbalanced. And that's an issue. 

There's no doubt the producers on the show are overworked and possibly underpaid, but more thought should have been given to who is booked for hot topics segments.

It's just not the smartest idea to have a panel full of people who share broadly the same political views.

Middle Australia is fairly centrist – perhaps a smidgen to the right of centre – so skewing a morning show with an older demo too far to the left is dangerous.

The other solution is simply to nix politics altogether. Seven's The Morning Show, hosted by Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur, avoids politics and has found a lot of success by simply being entertaining.

That's not to say you can't talk about elected leaders and the news of the day – you just need to find the right balance so that Australians feel like they are being heard, and not simply lectured at.

Nine declined to provide an on-the-record statement, but a source told Inside Mail that the network was committed to presenting diverse perspectives and that it would be inaccurate to suggest that production teams hold a shared political view.

Bailey's not the only one with options

The end of the World Cup has left a vacuum in the sporting news cycle – one that AFL heart-throb Bailey Smith seems more than willing to fill.

The Geelong Cats midfielder, 25, became the talk of TikTok when a woman he had been on a date with revealed he had also been on a date with another woman named Mia… on the same day… in the same outfit… just three hours apart.

It was 'crazy work', admitted Sydney woman Tahlia in a video that soon blew up. Luckily, she appeared to see the funny side, captioning the clip: 'POV when he's planning his future with you and 400 other girls.'

Naturally, we wanted to get to the bottom of Smith's latest romantic exploits, particularly because his last headline-grabbing fling with Tammy Hembrow turned out to be a glorified Tinder commercial. If this was another carefully orchestrated stunt, we were eager to find out who it was promoting.

The manager of one of the women in AFL star Bailey Smith's 'two dates, one day, same outfit' viral TikTok was keen to turn her client's social media fame into a commercial opportunity  

Sydney model and former swimmer Tahlia is no stranger to high-profile athletes, having been previously linked to rugby union star Zac Lomax

So we contacted the manager of one of the women, only to discover there might be a commercial angle after all.

'If your publication is interested in securing exclusive comments… please let me know whether there is budget available and I'd be happy to discuss options,' said the rep.

Unfortunately, there isn't a great deal of value in paying for quotes from someone who has already spilled the beans for free on TikTok. Still, you have to admire the hustle. 

Simons says 

Big news in the trade press this week, with Mediaweek dedicating its homepage splash to a 2,180-word whinge about how Mumbrella is being, like, totally unfair.

The media industry website posted an eye-watering statement from Josh Simons, the CEO of its parent company Vinyl Group, responding to what he characterised as a sustained campaign of inaccurate reporting, personal attacks and commercially damaging commentary by Mumbrella's founder Tim Burrowes.

In what sounds like an exhausting task, Vinyl Group – the ASX-listed, Richard White-backed music technology business that has been hoovering up fading digital mastheads and refitting them as AI content factories – identified what it claims are 30 articles and podcast episodes by Burrowes featuring recurring factual errors, misrepresentation of company disclosures and opinion presented as fact.

Simons rejected suggestions about a CEO succession plan, disputed claims relating to Vinyl's AI strategy and defended the work of its journalists, arguing that a writer's article was wrongly labelled as AI-generated by Burrowes and publicly ridiculed.

(Inside Mail has read the article Burrowes suspected was AI and if it was indeed written by a human, as Simons insists it was, they are in dire need of a sub-editor.)

The statement highlighted Vinyl's acquisition-led growth strategy, as well as audience and revenue growth, and argued that repeated smears by Mumbrella – which Simons notes is a direct competitor of Mediaweek – were 'causing identifiable commercial harm' to Vinyl as investors 'are encountering AI summaries asserting that the company has lost forecast credibility'. 

Ah, so the real problem isn't the reporting itself, but the AI summaries drawing on that reporting. Yet another defamation headache for publishers – who are not only being held responsible for what they write, but for the chatbots that remix it. But we digress.

In an astoundingly toothless threat, Simons confirmed Vinyl had lodged a complaint with the Australian Press Council which went nowhere because Mumbrella isn't a member, and then said: 'We are preserving all legal rights available to the company.'

Unless there have been more layoffs that we don't know about then Vinyl Group has more than 10 employees, meaning it can't sue for defamation. We're curious as to what legal recourse Simons might be referring to.

Whatever the case, we'll be watching this one with keen interest.

When contacted for comment, Burrowes simply said: 'We stand by our story.' 

Band of brothers

Mamamia was on the front foot last week addressing the fracas over Mia Freedman's son Luca Lavigne being elevated to CEO of the women's media empire she founded.

After dropping the story to Mumbrella for a largely favourable write-up, the company followed up with a podcast that tackled the criticism of their 'family news' head-on.

But while Mamamia HQ appeared determined to keep the messaging disciplined, two family members couldn't resist weighing in with some decidedly unfiltered thoughts.

Enter the twins. 

No, not Jessie and Clare Stephens, Mamamia's star podcasting sisters, but their brothers Nick and Jack, who are also twins and, thanks to Jessie's marriage to Luca, supportive brothers-in-law to the newly minted chief.

Mamamia twins Jessie and Clare Stephens (right) have twin brothers (left)… and they're not exactly singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to Luca Lavigne's ascension to CEO of the family business

Nick and Jack Stephens got stuck in with haters in the comments section of an AFR post. It was quite a different approach to the carefully stage-managed PR strategy within Mamamia

In a few weeks' time, Luca Lavigne (left) will succeed Nat Harvey (right) as Mamamia's CEO

Lavigne (left) is seen with his mother Mia Freedman (right) during his early years at Mamamia

The pair jumped into the comments section of an Australian Financial Review Instagram post about the promotion as criticism mounted over what some described as a textbook case of nepotism.

Let's just say, the Stephens boys hadn't sat in on the same communications briefings.

'This is a joke! I reckon Mia gave the job to her son because she gave birth to him grrrrr. So unfair that someone who made the business can do whatever they want with their own business,' fulminated Nick in an impersonation of the critics, while tagging his womb buddy Jack.

Jack happily piled on, replying in all caps: '[Mia] should do what I WANT! BECAUSE WHAT I WANT MATTERS!'

When a workers' rights account mocked Nick's slam-dunk ('Man speaks on women's matters and wins the internet. Congratulations'), he wasn't inclined to let it slide.

'If y'all cared as much for your life decisions as you did about other people's, you might have got the position.' Ouch!

We can almost picture Mamamia's carefully calibrated PR operation burying its head in its hands.

Step away from the keyboard slowly, lads. I think your sisters want a word.

Mamamia declined to comment. 

'The whole point' 

The Stephens brothers aren't the only ones going to bat for Freedman and her son.

A former staff member from the company's early years has come out in enthusiastic support of the promotion, in a move that is raising eyebrows among the company's gossipy alumni network.

Jasmine Garnsworthy was Mamamia's fashion and e-commerce editor from April 2012 to April 2013 and, according to her polished LinkedIn profile, launched Mamamia's e-commerce platform during her brief tenure.

Now living in New York, Garnsworthy is the CEO of Female Founder World, a media and community platform for women entrepreneurs.

Unsurprisingly, given her similar pedigree, she is Mia-to-the-bootstraps.

'People are so upset about this Mamamia news that the founder handed over the CEO role to her son, who is 28. It's a women's media company, a massive one, and I just am going to offer a different perspective to this,' she said in an Instagram Reel not-so-subtly titled: 'Your kids inheriting your business is literally the entire point.'

Jasmine Garnsworthy, Mamamia's former fashion and e-commerce editor, has earned thanks from Mia Freedman and Jessie Stephens for her video declaring that 'your kids inheriting your business is literally the entire point'

'I think anyone who has tried to build a business with little kids – you've got these babies crawling around while you do stuff – it feels like they are in the business and apprentices in your business from the beginning.

'The idea of building something [that is] going to be handed over to them one day, that is the entire point to me… The whole point is that I could hand this over to them. Otherwise I wouldn't even bother starting this business.'

The suggestion that the 'whole point' of Mamamia was to build something for Freedman and husband Jason Lavigne's children to inherit struck us as an odd interpretation of the company's mission.

Nonetheless, her support seemed to resonate with Freedman and Luca's wife Jessie, who both commented heart emojis below Garnsworthy's post.

That isn't to suggest that Freedman agreed with everything Garnsworthy had to say.

Indeed, she said last week on the Out Loud podcast that it was 'never the plan' for Lavigne to become the boss, but that when the CEO position became available, his experience and company knowledge made him the natural successor to Nat Harvey.

Garnsworthy expressed surprise that 'the world gets angry' at founders handing the reins to their adult children 

Meanwhile, Garnsworthy's video has become rage-bait for former Mamamia staffers who joined after her stint at the company and watched Luca grow from a teenage junior writer hanging around the office into the man now running it.

'Not really sure why someone who literally worked there for 13 months over a decade ago feels the need to come out to bat for Mia,' sniped one former employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

'I'm not surprised the people batting for Mia are her media friends and an ex-employee who worked there when Luca was literally still in school,' added another. 

A third alumna offered a more diplomatic take, telling Inside Mail: 'It's been really polarising, I can't believe the amount of people who have an opinion on this.'

Garnsworthy was approached for comment on Wednesday via the contact form on her business website. Mamamia declined to comment.

Hello, Dr Nick

The search is on for Karl Stefanovic's replacement on the Today show and many names have been bandied about.

While Samantha Armytage is a strong contender to become a host, she certainly won't be teaming up with Sarah Abo – currently on maternity leave – after the disaster that was the Georgie Gardner and Deb Knight pairing. 

That isn't to say two women couldn't work – because it has worked overseas – but those two had no chemistry whatsoever. That was clear from day dot.

Nine is unlikely to want to pioneer that idea again, so if Armytage stays, Abo will be flicked back to her old stomping ground of 60 Minutes or the newsroom.

So, who would make a good co-host for Sam?

Nine's top programming boss Michael Healey has thrown his mate – and husband of A Current Affair host Allison Langdon – Mike Willesee Jr into the chair.

The search is on for Karl Stefanovic's replacement on the Today show and many names have been bandied about – including Dr Nick Coatsworth (pictured), who says his lack of odds on Sportsbet aren't a good sign

Let's put this kindly… he doesn't have the on-screen presence his father did.

But will that matter?

Mateship still goes a long way at 9 Denison St, often to the detriment of viewers, and it wouldn't be surprising if Willesee Jr gets the gig in the end, despite poor feedback within the industry, where the consensus is that he just doesn't have what it takes for that type of role.

One of the other names being thrown out there is Dr Nick Coatsworth.

The former Deputy Chief Health Officer is a polarising figure who connects with audiences. While 'polarising' might sound like a negative, in the entertainment business, it's a really good thing. After all, Armytage is polarising too.

Viewers don't watch beige, boring hosts. The most successful presenters, including the likes of Stefanovic, David Koch and Eddie McGuire, are both loved and loathed in equal measure.

It would certainly be interesting to see Dr Nick, as he is known, sitting next to Armytage, but in a recent interview with McKnight Tonight, he said the chances were slim.

'I didn't get any odds on Sportsbet,' he laughed.

'I wanna tell your viewers, I am disappointed. I'm embittered. I look forward to the call from the head of news tomorrow!'

Someone who can be self-deprecating like that could make for an interesting choice by Nine – but the role is more likely to go to someone's mate.

Viewers don't really get a say.

Friends without benefits  

It's the club no-one wants to join – and its unsuspecting members have become part of a major investigation into an alleged $1.7million theft from Sydney billionaire Judith Neilson.

They are all named in the NSW Police brief for 144 charges against Annalouise Spence, the former trusted executive assistant and Private Secretary to Neilson, one of Australia's richest women and a significant arts patron who opened the White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale in 2009.

Spence was arrested in April and spent two months on remand before being released on $1million bail, secured by her husband, rally car driver Adam Spence.

Court documents seen by the Daily Mail in the 'Crown bundle' allege Spence used Neilson's NAB and AMEX credit cards to make repeated unauthorised purchases – including luxury goods, artworks, jewellery, travel, hotels and group events.

The papers state that Spence would then ask friends and associates to reimburse her personal account, despite the original charges being paid from Neilson's accounts.

An elite group of friends are among those named in the NSW Police brief for 144 charges against Annalouise Spence, the former trusted executive assistant of billionaire Judith Neilson (pictured)

Presumably, the friends believed they were just paying their way for concerts or dinners.

In November 2023, Elia Napiza and her wife, Sue, joined a WhatsApp group set up by Spence for friends attending a Coldplay concert, transferring ticket payments into Spence's personal account.

Spence received $3,500 in reimbursements for a corporate box at CommBank Stadium in Brisbane for the following year's concert.

Police documents list this as 'Offence 35: Coldplay tickets', naming Elia, Sue and 'Peta and Marc' – with 'Marc' believed to be Spence's friend Marcus Longinotti.

The charge alleges Spence never reimbursed Neilson the $3,500 that was deposited.

Another charge alleges that on New Year's Day 2025, Spence charged a $3,903.25 New Year's Eve dinner at Launceston's Stillwater Restaurant to her Black Amex supplementary card, allegedly unauthorised but directly linked to Neilson's account.

Spence then asked nine guests to transfer their $383 share into her personal account, with deposits totalling $766 from Lee Challoner-Miles, Elia Napiza, Craig Neil and Wayne Lardner.

Challoner-Miles, general manager of Digital, Data and AI for Bank of New Zealand, is a rally navigator and teammate of Adam Spence, founder of Redback Racing. Wayne Gardner is another rally mate.

Elia and Sue Napiza attended a February 2024 Blade Runner Live event organised by Annalouise, reimbursing $323.15 for tickets to Aware Super Arena – allegedly bought with Neilson's Amex card.

In September that year, after tickets to a Kylie Minogue concert were allegedly purchased on Spence's Black Amex, Spence attended the March 2025 event at Qudos Bank Arena with Longinotti, a brand producer and art director.

The Allan delusion 

Victorian Labor's mask slipped on Tuesday, with the usually confident party revealing a streak of electoral panic and reminding voters that beneath its managerial veneer beats the heart of a ruthless political machine.

Nowhere was that more evident than in the actions of former premier Jacinta Allan and her shrinking band of loyalists.

Inside Mail understands Allan decided to resign only hours before the 10am caucus meeting, but not before spending more than a day entrenched in what sources described as a 'delusional' bunker mentality, convinced there remained a path to survival despite overwhelming numbers against her.

Such was the disconnect between Allan's camp and political reality that one insider compared the atmosphere to the claustrophobic World War II drama Downfall.

Under Victorian Labor's rules, a leadership challenge can only be triggered if at least half of the parliamentary caucus signs a petition calling for a spill.

That threshold is lower than the federal Labor Party, which requires the support of 60 per cent of caucus members before a leadership vote can proceed.

Once a spill is declared, the process depends on how many candidates nominate. If only one person puts their hand up for the leadership, there is no ballot and they are automatically endorsed as leader.

Allan (pictured) was described as entering a 'bunker' mentality during her dying leadership

If multiple candidates contest the position, the party moves to a formal leadership election involving both Labor MPs and rank-and-file members. 

The ballot is weighted between the parliamentary caucus and the party membership, with the result determined by combining the two votes.

Allan was convinced that even if she didn't have the total majority of the caucus vote, she would easily carry a membership vote by enough to secure her leadership, something she admitted during her resignation speech.

Allan was so confident of victory that she wrote to the State Secretary Steve Staikos

'I also wish to formally notify you of my intention to be a candidate for the leadership of the State Parliamentary Labor Party, in the event that an election is required.'

Yet Allan's downfall did not come at the hands of her traditional factional rivals. Instead, it was her own allies who delivered the fatal blow.

While Victorian Labor is often viewed through the prism of its Left and Right factions, the reality is a far more fragmented network of competing power blocs.

Allan, who emerged from the Daniel Andrews Hard Left, watched her position unravel as key figures within the Industrial Left withdrew their backing, depriving her of the numbers needed to survive and sealing the fate of her premiership.

Sonya Kilkenny (pictured), a staunch Allan loyalist, ran to scare her opponents into backing her faction's preferred choice for deputy leader

This act would not go unpunished. 

Allan acknowledged the reality of her situation in her resignation speech, publicly declaring she would back Ben Carroll if he was successful in his tilt – at that time the only declared leadership candidate. 

But the events that followed reinforced the view held by many of her internal critics that she remained, at heart, a factional operator unwilling to surrender influence without a fight.

Enter Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, Allan's staunchest ally.

In a move that blindsided much of the Labor caucus, Kilkenny nominated for the leadership, securing the 14 signatures required to force a ballot, including Allan's own endorsement. 

Until that point, Carroll's backers had expected a straightforward transition, with 50 MPs lining up behind him and no serious challenger emerging.

Kilkenny's intervention detonated those expectations.

MPs who had anticipated a quick and uncontested handover suddenly found themselves facing a potentially divisive leadership contest. 

Jacinta Allan (left) felt deeply betrayed by Williams (right), one of her Left faction colleagues  

The surprise extended beyond Spring Street, with journalists scrambling to make sense of the rapidly shifting numbers.

The development proved so unexpected that Herald Sun political editor James Campbell laughed in disbelief during a live television broadcast when reports of Kilkenny's nomination emerged. 

Within minutes, News24's headline on the screen simply said 'Labor Chaos'.

Behind the scenes, Kilkenny's candidacy formed part of a last-ditch effort by the Hard Left to protect its influence in the post-Allan era. 

The faction pushed for Gabrielle Williams, also from the left, to step aside in favour of Steve Dimopoulos for the deputy leadership, hoping to lock in one of the party's most powerful positions.

According to multiple sources, Kilkenny's camp made clear it was prepared to force a ballot unless Dimopoulos secured the deputy's role. 

Dimopoulos remains a divisive figure within Victorian Labor. 

In 2022, he enraged former allies on the Right when he defected to Labor's Left faction, helping Daniel Andrews consolidate a majority in the party room and reshaping the balance of power within the government. 

Had Kilkenny followed through, Victorian Labor would have been plunged into a six-week leadership contest, leaving the eventual winner with barely 10 weeks to sell themselves to voters before November's state election.

Anthony Albanese's office was seemingly blindsided by Kilkenny's decision to nominate  

Kilkenny pressed her case until the eleventh hour. 

The situation became so chaotic that caucus briefly settled on Gabrielle Williams as an interim leader, a role she held for little more than 10 minutes before Kilkenny finally withdrew and cleared the path for a Carroll victory.

By that stage, senior figures across the labour movement were scrambling to restore order. 

Inside Mail understands Trades Hall and party officials, increasingly alarmed by the spectacle unfolding behind closed doors, exerted intense pressure on Kilkenny and her supporters to bring the standoff to an end.

Whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese or Labor national secretary Paul Erickson intervened directly remains unclear.

Albanese appeared unaware of the chaos engulfing Victorian Labor, giving a press conference in WA during the standoff that suggested that his office believed that the process would be swift and simple. 

Significantly, the impasse inside the caucus room broke after that press conference concluded, with the factional warfare subsiding roughly 20 minutes later.

What is clear, however, is that neither camp viewed the unfolding drama favourably as the party sought to avoid a damaging and protracted public fight.

Carroll (pictured) did the same thing Kilkenny threatened when he became Deputy in 2023 

In a Shakespearean twist, the move mirrored one made by Carroll himself when he contested the party leadership in 2023 after Andrews' resignation. 

After later withdrawing from the race, Carroll was appointed Deputy Leader.

Members of Allan's faction have not forgotten the episode, which at the time was described by one insider as 'an act of absolute terrorism'.

While Kilkenny's gambit ultimately failed, it peeled back the curtain on the factional warfare that has largely disappeared from public view during the Albanese era. 

Since taking the federal leadership, Albanese has worked to present Labor as a disciplined and stable governing party, a deliberate contrast to the leadership turmoil that defined the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years.

Who is the Premier?

Victoria may have a new leader, but you wouldn't know it from the Premier's official government webpage.

As of Wednesday morning, the page was still listing Jacinta Allan as Premier, complete with contact details directing constituents to her office email.

No doubt Allan and her staff will be moving any important emails to the junk folder, similar to how Ben Carroll did to her premiership. 

The Victorian Premier website still displayed Jacinta Allan's name as of Wednesday morning

A cheeky move 

Our PM has represented Grayndler for so long that his newest opponent wasn't alive when he started!

Hannah Ferguson, the 28-year-old founder of Cheek Media, has announced she will contest Albo's inner Sydney seat as an independent at the next federal election.

Hannah Ferguson, the 28-year-old founder of Cheek Media, has announced she will contest the Prime Minister's inner Sydney seat as an independent at the next federal election

Ferguson was born in Marrickville in 1998. By then Albo had already represented Grayndler for two years. He's now held it for 30 years.

Ferguson argues that the progressive electorate deserves better local representation and says Albo has placed gambling and fossil fuel interests ahead of his local community and their values, which frankly is probably true. She previously intended to run for the Senate but decided to target Grayndler instead.

Albo secured approximately 66 per cent of the two-party vote at the last election, so Ferguson has chosen the electoral equivalent of scaling Mount Everest.

Nevertheless, she insists her candidacy 'is not about headlines or clickbait'. But is that really true of anyone who's under 30? Much less a social media influencer?

Challenging a sitting PM in one of Labor's safest seats is certainly an unusual way of avoiding the limelight.

The 161-minute Coalition 

The Liberal Party managed three different positions on its stance on a coalition with One Nation before an early brunch on Monday.

At 7.19am, shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg left the door wide open: 'If there needs to be a coalition, we'll work it out then.'

At 8am, the shadow defence minister James Paterson was already backing away, saying he would be 'surprised' if Bragg was advocating such an arrangement and insisting the Liberals weren't shopping around for another coalition partner, in the event the Nationals are rendered irrelevant.

By 10am, Liberal leader Angus Taylor had arrived with the definitive answer Bragg might not have wanted to hear: 'There will be no coalition with One Nation.'

All up, the Liberals conducted an entire coalition negotiation in 161 minutes, without One Nation even having to turn up for the discussion.

Of course if the polls stay where they are, the Liberals won't be in any position to dictate terms one way or the other. They might be lucky to have enough lower house members to field a cricket team in the annual parliamentary showdown against the press gallery.

The men who stole the Hills  

NSW ICAC is once again snooping into the lives of the state's political operators – this time with members of the Liberal Party in the dock.

This week, public hearings heard from star witness Dylan Whitelaw as investigators probe allegations of corruption linked to a NSW Liberal Right faction group known as the 'Reformers'. 

Those under scrutiny include former Liberal powerbroker Christian Ellis, lobbyist Robert Assaf, Jeremy Greenwood, Jean-Claude Perrottet and Charles Perrottet (both brothers of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet), while fugitive developer Jean Nassif is alleged to have bankrolled parts of the operation.

The Reformers were aiming to recruit religious conservatives into Liberal branches across Sydney's north-west in a bid to wrest control from the party's Centre Right faction, including federal Liberal MP Alex Hawke and former NSW Police Minister David Elliott.

In her opening address, counsel assisting the commission Peggy Dwyer SC alleged Nassif used his millions to bankroll Liberal operatives who undertook a major branch-stacking campaign designed to take over the NSW Liberal Party and advance a conservative agenda.

ICAC has heard the operation was linked to efforts that ultimately contributed to Elliott losing preselection influence, the replacement of minister Kevin Anderson and the resignation of building commissioner David Chandler.

But for political tragics and Liberal insiders, there is little about the allegations that comes as a complete surprise.

Long before ICAC launched Operation Rosny, the rumours, factional warfare and whispered claims about the Reformers had become the stuff of NSW Liberal folklore.

'The Men who stole the Hills' is a document widely known in NSW Liberal Party circles, which details the so-called 'Reformers', and their alleged operations and events, such as one in 2019 with broadcaster Alan Jones 

A document tabled in Parliament by Labor upper house MP John Graham years ago pulled back the curtain on the group and its ambitions. 

Dramatically titled 'The men who stole the Hills', the dossier stretched across hundreds of pages and detailed what critics alleged was a coordinated campaign to seize control of the Liberal Party's heartland in Sydney's north-west.

Among the more eye-catching revelations were details of the group's events and recruitment drives, featuring guest speakers including former prime minister Tony Abbott and broadcaster Alan Jones. 

Neither is accused of any involvement in the conduct now being examined by ICAC.

The hearings have also revived some of the colourful internal battles that have circulated through Liberal circles for years. 

This week, counsel assisting asked Whitelaw about a document allegedly known as the 'David Elliott s**t sheet', one of several eyebrow-raising references aired in evidence. 

Whitelaw told the commission he could not recall having seen the document.

Whitelaw's evidence is also being watched closely by a generation of Liberal operatives who came through the NSW Young Liberals alongside him and have found themselves reliving some of the party's most factionally charged years.

Testimony of Dylan Whitelaw (pictured) has been widely watched by many former Young Liberals from his era, some saying that Whitelaw would be 'loving' the drama of the coverage

One former Young Liberal told Inside Mail there was little doubt Whitelaw would be enjoying the attention, quipping that he would be 'loving' the media circus surrounding the hearings.

As ICAC proceedings continue, his appearance has already become a major talking point among Liberal alumni, many of whom remember the personalities, rivalries and factional battles now being replayed under the glare of a public inquiry.

Inside Mail understands NSW Labor figures are quietly hoping Operation Rosny delivers a political bombshell that leaves both NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane and the party on the defensive ahead of the next state election.

The timing is certainly awkward for the Liberals, with upper house MP Damien Tudehope stepping down from the shadow ministry after being called as a witness before ICAC. Tudehope has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The political fallout has not gone unnoticed by observers. Former federal opposition leader and now independent NSW MLC Mark Latham summed up the mood on social media, claiming Premier Chris Minns was 'sitting back with his popcorn watching the Liberals squirm at ICAC'.

But Labor knows there is risk as well as opportunity.

If the inquiry fails to produce any major political casualties or damaging findings against senior Liberals, the government could find itself deprived of an issue that has dominated headlines, and forced to win the next election the old-fashioned way: by campaigning on its own record (a tough ask when you have NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey tightening the strings on the state budget).