Legal power couple hatch $2.1m plan for $27m Bellevue Hill estate

Legal power couple Matthew Darke SC, who shot to prominence as Westpac’s barrister in the banking royal commission, and his wife Felicity McMahon, a partner at law firm Allens, managed to evade headlines when they snapped up their Bellevue Hill home last year.

Land title documents seen by CBD show the couple paid $27 million for the 1920s-style six-bedroom grand family estate in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, fit with a “resort-style” pool, five bathrooms, two parking spots and, of course, panoramic harbour views.

The 917-square-metre eastern suburbs estate was originally designed by the nation’s first professor of architecture, the late Leslie Wilkinson, according to a recent listing for the property. It was then given a facelift by the architects Tobias Partners.

But if recent paperwork filed with Woollahra Council is any indicator, Darke and McMahon are of the mind there’s still a little room for improvement. (The couple didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

In a development application filed on October 1, Dark and McMahon kickstarted the process for renovations estimated to cost about $2.1 million, which would cover the installation of a new swimming pool and attic floor, some work to the house, and some landscaping work. A finishing schedule, though, suggests the couple doesn’t plan to deviate far from the home’s current design.

No doubt the work will keep the couple busy. The last time the legal heavyweights were in the news was in August last year, when it emerged the pair had found a buyer for their old Bellevue Hill home. That property was listed with a $19 million auction guide, according to The Australian Financial Review, which reported the final sale price was just north of $20 million.

All gas, no brakes

There’s been no shortage of scrutiny directed at the Albanese government over the corporate hospitality enjoyed by its ministers before and during its time in office.

Qantas, of course, has created all manner of headaches for federal Labor, including for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself, and more recently, Transport Minister Catherine King. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland also faced backlash for taking donations from Sportsbet as shadow communications minister. Rowland became communications minister when Labor won government.

So what to make, then, of the corporate hospitality extended to Resources Minister Madeleine King by the oil and gas producer, Woodside Energy?

Fresh documents released under freedom of information laws show the company, whose chairman Richard Goyder previously chaired Qantas, twice invited the minister to watch the Fremantle Dockers AFL team as guests of the company in their corporate suites. It looks like the minister obliged on one occasion, according to the parliamentary register of interests, and also attended an industry breakfast hosted by Woodside with the prime minister in Perth.

The documents, which cover the period between January 1 and August 1 this year, also show the company’s then newly installed chief executive Liz Westcott in March sought meetings with the minister to talk shop, as the government was working on its contentious gas reservation plan.

It’s not uncommon for chief executives and senior government affairs staff to write directly to their relevant minister to try and book in a bit of face time in a bid to grease the wheels.

But it’s hard to imagine the frequency with which Labor ministers have accepted corporate hospitality would pass muster with Australian voters, whether the freebies are within the rules or not.

We contacted King’s office, but didn’t hear back by deadline.

Greening out

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s much-hyped Greenwashing inquiry has been delayed yet again. At this point, we can’t help wondering if the delays put the inquiry on course to set some kind of record.

For those who may have forgotten: the Senate in March 2023 referred an inquiry into greenwashing to report by December 5 that year. By August, the reporting date was kicked back to June 2024. Then November 2024, then February 2025, then March 2025, then August 2025. Then June 2026. Then November this year.

If you can believe it, earlier this month, the reporting date was kicked down the road yet again. This time to March next year, at which point it’ll be about four years behind schedule. When asked what was behind the ongoing delays on Monday, Hanson-Young said the inquiry has been waylaid by a series of “unforeseen and urgent inquiries” that have taken the committee’s resources and time.

“[They include] the Algal Bloom, the Optus and then Telstra outages, and a heavy workload of its sister committee with government legislation (ie environment laws, social media and gambling reforms),” the senator told CBD by text. “I hope the committee can prioritise some final hearings after this year’s parliamentary session is over and report early next year.” Hopefully, nobody is holding their breath.

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