Waterhouse’s $4m reno plans hit another snag as council deems excavation ‘excessive’

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For years, Tom Waterhouse has tried his best to stand out. For years, Waterhouse’s efforts have irritated large swaths of the Australian public.

Tough times for Tom Waterhouse, whose renovation plans are stalled yet again.Credit: John Shakespeare

The scion of the famous bookmaking dynasty first burst onto the scene about a decade ago, fronting a relentless advertising campaign that made Waterhouse one of the most annoying men in Australia, until his eponymous betting company was mercifully swallowed by global giant William Hill.

Two years ago, Waterhouse’s ads were riling people again when he released a strange Christmas video of him holding a goat and posing with a bunch of scantily clad models. An unrepentant Waterhouse claimed the cringe bit of Casanova cosplay was about standing out amid all the “vanilla” content online.

Now Waterhouse is also hoping to stand out among Sydney’s millionaire’s row on the north shore.

But unfortunately for him, his attempted rebuild of a $13 million beachfront home in the exclusive enclave is a saga that continues to drag on, leaving a trail of irritated neighbours in its wake.

Waterhouse first submitted plans for $4 million in renovations – involving a new pool and pergola – last year, prompting complaints, mostly from neighbours unhappy about the imposing design ruining their own hard-earned ocean views.

Eventually, with a little help from barrister Ian Hemmings, SC, Waterhouse got the plans approved in the Land and Environment Court.

But a subsequent amendment to those plans was rejected last week by Mosman Council, which agreed with Waterhouse’s salty neighbours that the new proposal involved excessive excavation and would breach scale and bulk rules.

Looks like the latest attempt to stand out will have to wait. Waterhouse, who now dabbles in crypto and venture capital, couldn’t be reached because, like most Sydney University commerce grads, he’s now based in London.

DIGGING INTO DELOITTE

Big four consultants have never elicited much public sympathy. But the PwC tax scandal and resulting inquiries into the sector may have made things even worse for the poor sods and elevated them to the status of full-blown corporate scoundrels.

The current Senate inquiry has provided an eye-opening look at the previously opaque world of consulting.

Deloitte chief executive Adam Powick answers questions in a Senate inquiry into consulting services.Credit: Martin Ollman

Last week, for example, the inquiry revealed former PwC boss Tom Seymour was taking home $4.6 million a year and about 35 per cent of all partners there earned more than $1 million in the last financial year.

And on Monday, Deloitte chief executive Adam Powick was dragged into some uncomfortable conversations about his own bloated pay packet by Greens senator Barbara Pocock.

After telling the inquiry that partner salaries were “competitive information” that had already been disclosed by one of Deloitte’s competitors recently, Powick said Pocock was “in the ballpark” with a figure of $3.5 million for his own annual salary.

Then Pocock stuck in the knife by asking whether Powick felt that pay packet was “really worth seven times the salary of the prime minister”.

Powick’s short answer? No.

The longer version? Blame the invisible hand!

“We’re in a free market … my salary is set to be commensurate with others that play a similar role in our profession,” he said.

ART OF SPIN

In May, the prestigious APY Art Centre Collective landed in the mother of all scandals, when it was alleged that white artists were doctoring works by Indigenous painters to help them sell better among white buyers.

It prompted a joint investigation by the federal, South Australian and Northern Territory governments. APY’s general manager, Skye O’Meara, and senior leadership team have refused to stand down and denied the reports first published in The Australian.

At the time, the embattled APY turned to crisis communications hired gun Sue Cato, who’s the kind of person you would turn to in situations like this. Ben Roberts-Smith did too.

But it seems like Cato has since taken a step away from APY, with the collective recently turning to leading corporate communications and lobbying firm GRACosway to handle things. It’ll no doubt have its hands full – we hear APY involves a lot of work.

DEEP CUTS

Much has been written in recent years about the toxic culture within Victoria’s surgical profession.

The industry seems to chew up and spit out doctors at a rate even faster than Spring Street dispenses with staffers.

So it caught this column’s eye when one of the surgeons at the centre of a 2015 sexual harassment scandal, Dr Chris Xenos, was going to court again, this time accused of malpractice.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found in 2008 that Xenos sexually harassed a female colleague, and it awarded her $100,000 in damages. The victim, Dr Caroline Tan, said after she made the complaint her career was derailed, and she demanded an inquiry into the treatment of whistleblowers to break a toxic culture of silence in Australian hospitals.

Tan also said that sexism, harassment and bullying were rife among surgeons and that those who dared to speak up were being punished, not the perpetrators.

According to legal documents filed in March, Xenos is now operating as a surgeon in a private capacity and is accused of negligence during a June 2020 operation.

A woman who had surgery alleges Xenos failed to properly inspect, observe and repair her oesophagus when he operated on her. Xenos, in documents filed in May, denies this.

Daniel Opare, medical law practice leader for Shine Lawyers in Victoria, said Xenos ought to have identified that he perforated the woman’s oesophagus before finishing the back surgery.

“She continues to have trouble eating food and is understandably traumatised by the ordeal.”

The case hasn’t settled. Xenos’ team did not respond to requests for comment.

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