When asked if, in this day and age, he still run as PM, Hawkey said probably not given the scrutiny of the media and rise of social media in the modern age. That was given a wry laugh from the audience, most of whom were tweeting photos of him as he spoke. Soaking up the bon vivant and Bob's advice that all governments should hold a National Economic Summit that he established in 1983 – which he said his government's success flowed from – was former Tony Abbott chief of staff Peta Credlin, NSW Minster for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres, Mike Baird staffer Clive Mathieson and his former News Ltd comrade Greg Baxter and ASIC's Matthew Abbott. The corporate and broking world was also on hand to give Bob a rousing reception, including Robert Webster and Lindsay Partridge from Brickworks, Jim Evans, from BT Investment Management; Michael Richardson, Deutsche Bank's head of equity capital markets; Richard Alcock, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and former editor of Woman's Weekly, Helen McCabe.

Spare a dime?

Buddy can you spare me a dime? Well, several million bucks, actually.
For Roger Corbett and his pokie king buddy Bruce Mathieson, their boat has finally come in over at Mayne Pharma, but to keep the money rolling, both have to dig deep.
Even so, given the way its shares have helped to underwrite a growing portion of their wealth over the better part of the past decade, can they afford not to take up their rights to its latest hare issue?
Mayne Pharma has finally broken through and garnered interest at the big end of town with its placement last week at $1.50, which left the professionals with big grins on their faces counting their profits since its shares ended the week at $1.87.
Corbett has been on the register since Mayne shares were trading at under 15¢, and Mathieson for even longer.
Now, the fun starts for the pair, with the rights priced at $1.28, so they can't afford not to take them up, plus some, since there is a "top-up" which allows retail investors to apply for up to 50 per cent on top of their entitlement. For Corbett, he will need over $7 million, according to your diarist's old abacus, with Mathieson up for more than $40 million. But the instant gains they will make will help cover losses on the dogs in their portfolio such as Western Desert Resources, which sank without trace a few years back.

Moet on tap

Stephen Day and Stuart Dawes, having seen the rise and fall and rise of the property market over many years, are now overseeing the rise of Propertylink, and held a gala event last week to congratulate Dawes' elevation to the CEO position. It was just for staff at the group's 20 Bond Street, Sydney digs, where the former ASX trading floor was in the basement. CBD was told that at staff events Moet is not usually served, but it was, as this was a "special occasion".

Bolly by the case

Being part of an established firm can be advantageous for legal professionals. But what are the key benefits of working for a leading legal firm, and what are the key factors in deciding which firm to join? Lawyers Weekly would like to know, as a professional, what influences your decision to join or switch firms. The journal adds, "your views are important to helping us understand the demands and expectations of the legal industry". And as an incentive to complete the survey, Lawyers Weekly will throw in a case of Bollinger. CBD can only surmise that times can't be too tough in Melbourne legal circles if they are dishing out Bolly by the case.