CEO pushes Liberal views
RICHARD Murray, who runs billionaire Solomon Lew’s fashion empire, said Australians would “do the right thing” and re-elect the Morrison government in an unorthodox political statement for a public company CEO.
Speaking on the stage at the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch, where he made a short but incredibly partisan speech thanking Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for his own address, Mr Murray cast aside any concerns about diving into politics and later brushed off suggestions the current “cancel culture” environment could see a social media backlash against his company’s fashion brands.
“I’m not sure it is a secret that Sol and I support the Liberal Party as a general view, just quietly,” Mr Murray said after his onstage comments.
Mr Lew later defended the comments by Mr Murray (pictured), who runs his Premier Retail business that owns stores such as Portmans, Just Jeans, Dotti, Smiggle and Peter Alexander, saying he could work with either side of politics and politicians who understood the nature of “win-win” when dealing with corporate Australia.
Mr Murray, who is a prominent Liberal and also chairman of the powerful Liberal Party fundraising arm the Higgins 200 Club, said the coalition parties were the best option to direct Australia’s economic recovery from the pandemic and meet the aspirational ideals of the country.
Thanking Mr Frydenberg after his appearance at the lunch, where the Treasurer outlined his government’s plans to regulate the buy now pay later sector as well as cryptocurrency, Mr Murray threw out any semblance of bipartisanship.
Rather than staying above the political fray, he told the 1000-strong audience at Melbourne’s Crown Casino ballroom the Scott Morrison government must be returned.
“I firmly believe Australians will do the right thing at the ballot box once again in 2022, and we will see a coalition government returned, mandated to guide not only our economic recovery, but charting the course for a nation that will remain the best place in the world to live, raise a family, and do business,” he said.