Joe Aston

Sydney

Founder and Writer at Rampart

Columnist at Australian Financial Review

Founder of @rampart_news, former @FinancialReview columnist. My book on @Qantas, The Chairman’s Lounge, out now.

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Articles

No Blue Sky for Mark Sowerby

5 days ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

Last week, the Supreme Court of Queensland approved the abandonment of claims against Nine Entertainment and me in a class action brought by Blue Dog, the private company of Blue Sky Alternative Investments founder Mark Sowerby. These proceedings were vexatious from the outset. The statement of claim was so poorly drafted that it had to be repleaded repeatedly.
The secret ways of ASIC

1 week ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

Last week, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced the two-year trial of a compressed pre-IPO process, reducing by seven days the period between a prospectus being lodged and new shares trading on the Australian Securities Exchange. This change was one of many proposed by a bloc of investment banks, led by JPMorgan, in a confidential submission to ASIC last year.
Cettire on fire | Rampart

1 week ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

On Tuesday, Barrenjoey's ECM desk executed a trade of 20 million Cettire shares, or 5.3 per cent of the controversial luxury e-tailer. As the market learned on Wednesday, the seller was Cat Rock, until then Cettire's second-largest institutional shareholder (after Phil King's Regal Funds Management).
King's Birthday honour (eye) roll

2 weeks ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

Coming up, more shenanigans at IDP Education. But first:Nothing stirs my deep wells of republicanism like the King's Birthday honours list. One day every six months – for this parody of meritocracy takes place each Australia Day, too – I can only marvel at the gormless functionaries who pass for this country's finest. Scott Morrison was named a Companion of the Order of Australia on Monday.
The peccadillos of Virgin's prospectus

2 weeks ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

It might've been sly of private equity savages Bain Capital to release the prospectus for its upcoming float of Virgin Australia at 12:30pm on the Friday before a long weekend, or maybe it was happenstance.[[ I say marginally, because I suppose they could've dropped it at 4:59pm.]] The AFR and The Australian were straight onto the epic bucks finally being strewn around Virgin's executive floor (and board room) at Brisbane's South Bank.
Planet Ark directors recycle their reputations

3 weeks ago | afr.com | Joe Aston

Jun 6, 2025 – 9.00am or Subscribe to save articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? This week in Rampart, I gave short shrift to the latest wailing from predictable quarters – David Gonski and his trade union, the Australian Institute of Company Directors – about the frightening liability risks that allegedly loom over public company boards.
The myths of David Gonski

3 weeks ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

On Thursday evening, the godhead of company directors, David Gonski, received a lifetime achievement award at the Australian Financial Review's inaugural director awards. Gonski's career is a triumph in the eyes of fellow company directors, all of whom aspire to emulate him, but certainly not to public company shareholders. Objectively, his track record is not great. Westfield has been the great success, which had sweet FA to do with him.
Star directors the masters of their fate

3 weeks ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

Last Monday, Justice Michael Lee – yes, him again – was grappling aloud with the reasonable expectations of former directors of Star Entertainment, several of whom are in Federal Court defending civil penalty proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Those directors' defence, when it's boiled down, is that they couldn't have been expected to comprehend Star's dodgy dealings because they were buried so deep in the board papers.
Macquarie bonuses enter new dimension

1 month ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

After spending half of last week in Federal Court trying to follow the rococo English of senior counsel, I desperately needed some light reading. Macquarie Group's latest financial accounts – released nearly three weeks back – felt like the logical place to start. Two things stood out to me. The first was the remuneration outcome of Ben Way, the divisional head of Macquarie Asset Management, who earned $20.6 million in financial 2025.
Min Res charm offensive

1 month ago | rampart.news | Joe Aston

At 10:30 on Wednesday morning, mining analysts and investors will set off from the port of Ashburton on a taut three-hour bus ride along Mineral Resources' infamous private haul road to its Ken's Bore iron ore mine.