Vogue appoints the world’s most influential Cool Girl as its new editor, K.Rudd has a new job too

All the news that’s fit to mint.

What’s happening in (The) Oz:

🇺🇸 Jess Rudd’s dad, Kevin, is getting a fancy new job

👸🏻 Christine Centenera is the new Vogue boss

🔫  It’s sounding likely we’ll be getting more gun law reforms next year

🕵🏻‍♀️ We’re set to get some new privacy laws too 

💔 Our hero cops will be remembered in Queensland today

🧑🏻‍⚖️ The Jan 6 committee requests Donald Trump be charged four times for the rally that turned into a riot

🌮 Food is the new Fendi

📺 Harry and Meghan are coming back to Netflix

🏄🏻‍♂️ Four teenagers on paddleboards who can’t swim survived the night in freezing waters 

🤝🏼 Essendon Footy Club issues formal apology to the CEO it hired then sacked after 24-hours

Happy Gravy Day to all those who celebrate

Today we give thanks to the Patron Saint of Aussie Music (and incarcerated family members) Paul Kelly.

Speaking of a dollop of tomato sauce, home made gravy may be the only condiment on most tables for Christmas Day this weekend.

Since when did Woolies and Coles become the new Cartier?

This year is when, as inflation continues to hang around like a seagull.

However, the issue we now face is that we can barely afford hot chips, nor buy any due to bad weather conditions for farmers on the east coast and cooked supply chains.

READ MORE: Hot chips are in short supply

New research compiled by investment bank UBS – which has tracked more than 60,000 prices of supermarket items – shows that food inflation alone grew by about 9.1% in November. 

However while some of us think the price of things like cereals and tomato sauce to taco shells and kitchen cleaners might already be expensive, the analysts believe the “elevated shelf prices” still don’t adequately reflect the cost increases faced by grocery suppliers from “dislocated and disrupted” supply chains.

“This pressure on grocery suppliers coming from higher costs for energy, packaging, transport and labour is tipped to push them to approach the supermarket chains again for price hikes, further feeding inflation into 2023,” The Australian reported.

Kevin07 is back on the main stage

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been announced as the new Australian ambassador to the US.

PM Anthony Albanese made the announcement on Tuesday, saying his predecessor and close mentor would bring “unmatched experience to the role”.

K.Rudd will head to Washington early next year.

It was the worst kept secret in Canberra since May.

Albanese rubbished suggestions in the lead-up to the federal election that Rudd would be the next US ambassador.

Talking about the rumours in April, Albanese said it was “complete nonsense” and part of a “media obsession”.

Fast forward a few months and here we are.

While making his announcement on Tuesday, Albanese said Rudd was an “outstanding appointment” – despite the media putting to him that his Labor colleagues – past and present – had described the former prime minister as a “psychopath, a micromanager and a control freak”.

(Please someone megamix this ⬆️ for TikTok).

“Kevin Rudd … brings a great deal of credit to Australia by agreeing to take up this position as a former prime minister, as a former foreign minister, as someone who’s been head of the Asia Society, and as someone who has links with the global community based in Washington DC will be a major asset in working to assist the Foreign Minister as other ambassadors do in their job,” Albanese said.

Rudd’s appointment has been warmly welcomed at home and in his soon to be home.

The opposition are happy enough and are keen for Rudd to ensure he is a strong champion of the AUKUS defence agreement in his new gig.

“Over the years Australia’s Ambassador in Washington has been ably filled by many who, in representing Australia’s interests, are close to and carry the ear of the Prime Minister of the day,” shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham said.

Despite criticism about Rudd’s suitability for the role, Birmingham is optimistic about Albanese choosing a friend and colleague in whom he “clearly has faith and confidence.”

“In appointing former Prime Minister Rudd, Prime Minister Albanese has personally chosen a friend and confidante, a former parliamentary and ministerial colleague, and someone in whom Mr Albanese clearly has faith and confidence,” Birmingham said.

Former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey reckons the former PM will rely on his “lifetime in diplomacy” to ensure his appointment to the role is a “raging success”.

Hockey, who was ambassador from 2016 to 2020, said while Rudd will be warmly welcomed, he also has the “bravado” to “smash down the closed doors” which may be preventing Australia from being heard in the States.

“I’m sure the Americans will give him a warm welcome … because he is Australia’s representative in Washington DC and they will want to know that he has a direct line of communication to the prime minister and, of course, Kevin Rudd does, as I did with Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison,” Hockey said.

Hockey called the appointment by Albanese as “clever”, considering Rudd speaks fluent Mandarin and researched the future of China-US relations through Harvard University. 

“He’s sending someone that does have a deep understanding of China, which will give Kevin Rudd the opportunity to have meetings immediately with very senior people, not just in the administration, but in the Congress,” Hockey said.

Vogue Australia has a new editor in chief

Fashion director, fashion designer and the world’s most successful stylist (a hill I will die on) Christine Centenera will replace Edwina McCann as the new boss of our local style Bible.

Centenera has been with Vogue since 2012 and will continue to be FIFO out of Australia, London and the US. Her first issue will hit news stands and online in March 2023.

“I love being in close proximity to the extraordinary photographers, and people that we work with on the pages – anywhere in the world,” Centenera said. “Wherever I go, people love Australia and I’m proud to be an Australian abroad.” 

“I’m excited to take on this new role and will work to deliver a fresh creativity to the covers of Vogue Australia and across every page of the magazine, championing and nurturing inspiring design and exceptional fashion in Australia and internationally; celebrating interesting people and all their achievements, and ideas, with compassion, intelligence and humour…and always championing diversity and originality,” Centenera said.

Centenara has styled nearly everyone from Cate Blanchett to Naomi Campbell.

She’s also worked privately with Lara Worthington and Kim Kardashian. The latter she took to Jervis Bay to shoot her first Aussie Vogue cover back in 2015.

It came off the back of her first US Vogue appearance (she was shot with her ex-husband Kanye West), but Australia is where Kardashian landed her first solo Vogue cover.

After 10 years at the helm, McCann has been promoted to publisher and Centenera will be supported by the mag’s new executive editor Jessica Montague.

“We have worked together for more than 13 years and Christine is my natural choice to succeed me in this role. While I will continue as the magazine’s editorial director and publisher, this change will allow me to focus on our expanding and successful Prestige publishing business at News Corp Australia, which also includes Conde Nast titles GQ Australia and Vogue Living,” McCann said.

Harry and Meghan are TV moguls now

Since their “limited series” dropped on Netflix last week, here comes their next project.

A new doco inspired by Nelson Mandela about leadership.

Trump’s next issue

It took 18-months and 10 meetings but the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US parliament has voted –  unanimously – to make a raft of criminal referrals to the Justice Department for former President Donald Trump related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The committee have recommended Trump be charged with inciting an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the US government and making false statements. 

However doing so could actually further galvanise his supporters and have the opposite impact the Democrats (and most Republicans) desire.

“The House referral alone will give Mr Trump an excuse to claim this is all another Democratic revenge campaign. And it comes as Republican voters finally seem ready to bang the gong on the Trump show. Voters in November rejected candidates who campaigned on Mr Trump’s stolen election theories,” The Wall Street Journal opined after the decision was made public on Tuesday.

“In their crusade against Mr Trump’s norm-breaking, Democrats and the press have too often broken norms themselves. They have also had too little trust in US institutions to hold up against abuses and in voters to self-correct. An indictment on the current evidence would be seen as political, and it wouldn’t help the country get past Mr Trump or Jan. 6. Instead it could plunge American democracy into a new and dangerous era.”

Are we getting new gun laws?

We could be in the wake of the horrific Wieambilla ambush murders last week.

The Prime Minister confirmed on Tuesday that streamlined gun laws, like a national gun registry, will be on the agenda for the first National Cabinet meeting in the new year.

The idea was floated by Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers after constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were killed alongside good samaritan Alan Dare last week. While their colleagues, constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk, were ambushed by Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth and his wife Stacey, who were heavily armed.

Albanese will be soon be briefed on “practical ways” in which gun laws could be changed.

“My government will take any advice, particularly from police and law enforcement, about better ways in which we can have co-ordination and better laws to protect people.

“I am certainly up for dialogue with the states and territories about how there can be a better national consistency and national information that can serve the interests of police going about their duty.

“I will be asking for a briefing to go to that national cabinet meeting for practical ways in which we can not change the nature of the gun laws but change the nature of the way that information is co-ordinated.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Nationals Leader David Littleproud as well as New South Wales’ top police officers have shown their support towards a nationwide gun register.

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas is the latest leader to agree to the move.

On Tuesday Malinauskas said he would support “whatever measures made Australians safer”.

Shhhh!

We’ll also be getting new privacy laws in 2023 too.

That is according to our top law officer, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who has confirmed he’ll give the Act a make over in the new year.

The legislative reno is on the cards to ensure we don’t have to endure Optus and Medibank leaks ever again.

Coincidentally, a review into was commissioned by the former federal government in 2019 – years before millions of Optus and Medibank customers had their data stolen and leaked – in a bid to “ensure privacy settings empower consumers, protect their data and best serve the Australian economy”.

Our first Christmas miracle

Four kids who went paddle boarding on Monday in Victoria were caught in strong winds and blown through the night for more than 20km – clear across freezing and dangerous Port Phillip Bay – before landing on an island where they bunkered down and found shelter in a hut.

Two 18-year-old men, an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old woman were found alive on Swan Island more than 12 hours after they were reported missing from Rosebud Beach on Monday night.

“The four couldn’t fight against the easterly wind so floated with the tide and ended up on Swan Island – on the opposite side of the bay – around 2am,” Victoria Police said.

The “cold and disorientated” teenagers were found wandering the island when the sun came up, police added.

“I’m happy to say that the four missing people who went missing yesterday have been found safe and well across the other side of the bay,” Acting Superintendent Terence Rowlands said.

They were “very cold and relieved to be on dry land” after drifting across the bay on two inflatable paddleboards, Rowlands said.

One of the teenager’s parents Jack Shi thanked those who rescued the kids who are not strong swimmers.

“We were very much worried, they’re not good swimmers, they can swim but do not have the skills to swim in the bay,” Shi told ABC Melbourne.

Ambulance Victoria said the group was taken to a Geelong hospital after paramedics were called to Swan Island.

“All are in a stable condition with no obvious injuries,” a spokesperson said.

An update on the messiest corporate breakup of 2022

Remember when the Essendon Football Club announced a new CEO then sacked him 24-hours later after a public (and Twitter) backlash to his connections to a Church?

Well now the AFL club has formally and publicly apologised to Andrew Thorburn for its handling of his appointment and highly publicised, and swift, exit as chief executive after reaching a legal settlement with the former NAB boss over the scandal on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, Essendon said it “reiterates that (Thorburn) is a person of integrity who treats others, whether at work or elsewhere, with dignity and respect”.

“The Club acknowledges that the events of October should have been handled better and apologises for the impact it had on Mr Thorburn, his family and others,” the statement continued.

“Both parties consider that elements of the public commentary at the time were extreme and wrong and counter-productive to the respectful community dialogue they agree is critical.”

Thorburn quit in October after it emerged he was chairman of a church that preached negative views about homosexuality and abortion.

Thorburn has since wished Essendon well.

“The last few months have been difficult, yet it has also given me hope and strength,” he said.

“This has come from the many people who have reached out to me and provided love, prayers and support through these challenging times”

He welcomed the club’s statement, because it “affirms some key points of principle about genuine diversity and inclusion and respectful engagement”.

Essendon will now make a donation to an ethics organisation, which will “prepare an independent paper on how sporting organisations can build inclusive communities recognising freedoms including those relating to race, religion and sexuality”.