Optus scrambles to recruit outside help

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It may have been five days since Stephen Rue began what has become a rite of passage for Optus chief executives – helming the company through a national scandal and weathering calls to stand down.

Observing the tragic saga with a possible tinge of nostalgia is Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, who oversaw her fair share of calamity during her time as Optus top dog.

Rosmarin left the telco in November 2023, two weeks after a nationwide outage that downed phone and internet services for more than half a day, and a year after a cyber attack-induced outage caused widespread chaos.

Bayer Rosmarin is keeping her distance from this latest fire, responding to questions from this masthead about the latest scandal with a dead bat: “I think it’s ultimately a matter for the existing management and board, and I have been out of the organisation for some time now”.

Former Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin during a Senate hearing on November 17, 2023. She resigned three days later.

But that doesn’t mean the former executive is keeping mute. On Tuesday, Bayer Rosmarin was a headline speaker at a conference organised by another embattled company, technology firm Nuix. She spoke at its XLR8 conference at the Sydney Opera House. The topic: the world of AI.

It was a safe space for Bayer Rosmarin, who didn’t cop any curly questions from journalists on the day because, well, CBD was told there was no media access to the event.

Given we could not question the real KBR, we thought of commissioning ChatGPT for its own thoughts on what she might say, but ran out of time and space.

Meanwhile, Optus has reached out to lobbyists and media strategists as it negotiates its world of reputational pain.

“As you would expect with an issue of this nature, we have engaged external support,” an Optus spokesperson said.

CBD can reveal the federal government’s lobbyists register changed on Tuesday to reveal that Optus and parent Singtel had engaged lobbying firm Fitzpatrick & Co, run by Eamonn Fitzpatrick, a former Sydney Morning Herald journalist who also used to be a press secretary to prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.

The company has also recruited seasoned crisis comms figure David Luff, who has previously provided assistance to Rio Tinto and more recently Nine Entertainment Co, owners of this masthead.

These outside experts are helping to steer Optus’ ship away from troubled waters alongside Felicity Ross, chief corporate affairs and marketing officer who joined the company last December.

Ross used to work for the Metropolitan Police in London, so she’s used to dealing with tragedies.

Get in quick!

It is fair to say that our political classes are not looking forward to July 1, 2026. That’s when sweeping reforms to donations laws take effect. The threshold for when a donation has to be disclosed falls down to $5000, along with a $50,000 cap on how much an individual or business can give to a candidate or party.

But one person’s problem is another’s opportunity. Hence the Liberal Party’s Australian Business Network.

This week, the corporate fundraising arm emailed its members with a reminder that if they get in quick, they can beat those pesky transparency measures to the punch!

“If you would like to make a larger donation between now and 30 June 2026, one way to contribute is via the Liberal Party Future Fund, a capital-protected investment vehicle that delivers ongoing dividends to the Party over the long term,” the email, penned by the Network’s executive director Nicole Andrews, said.

When CBD asked Andrews about the fundraising push that looked to us like an attempt to dodge the reforms, she initially referred our questions onto Liberal Party federal director Andrew Hirst. But a minute later, we were told to instead email our question to the party’s general media line, who responded: “Like many organisations, we are reminding supporters about changes that come into effect from 1 July next year. All contributions help support our work in holding a bad government to account and ensuring a very strong alternative, now and into the future.”

Beyond the new era of smaller donations and greater transparency, the Liberal’s Business Network is focused on another key issue – female representation. It is planning a “Women in Business & Politics Lunch” to take place in Sydney in October. Headlining will be senator Jess Collins, moderating Melissa McIntosh MP, Navleen Prasad CEO of Australian Investment Council, former Liberal cabinet minister Helen Coonan.

Also popping up on the schedule is failed Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian, a sign the party sees a future for the aspiring politician in light of her razor-thin loss to teal Nicolette Boele in the seat of Bradfield at the May election.

And, in typical Liberal Party fashion, rounding out the names spruiked as joining its inaugural Women’s event are Alex Hawke, Angus Taylor and Dave Sharma. Old habits die hard.

Plot twist in luxe listing

Sydney talent agent Titus Day has a hard time staying out of the news.

Just weeks after prosecutors dropped charges against him marking the end of a years-long legal battle over allegations he embezzled a small fortune out of former client and inaugural Australian Idol Guy Sebastian, Day popped up in media coverage yet again.

With his name now cleared and legal ordeal behind him, Day has decided to sell his luxe Bondi pad, where his family has lived since buying it in 2018.

It boasts seven bedrooms – two of which are in a self-contained two-storey guest house – four bathrooms, parking for four cars, a swimming pool and a basement wine cellar and bar.

But – plot twist! It turns out – Day doesn’t actually own the family home.

Records show that the property is 30 per cent owned by Courtney Day and 70 per cent owned by Michael Bill Day as tenants in common.

Michael Bill Day is Titus’ dad. Keen to find out more, we reached out to Day’s lawyer Lauren MacDougall and real estate agent Chana Levy, but they didn’t get back to us.

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