Exiting print: Helena Carr (left) and her husband Bob
NSW premier Bob Carr’s wife Helena has sold her specialty printing business Merritt Madden Printing in a multi-million dollar deal to trans-Tasman printing giant Blue Star Print Group. The sale ends her 20 year involvement in the specialised printing industry. Formerly, she was the head of Coca-Cola Amatil’s Leigh Mardon security printing division in the 1980s when it was Australia’s leading printer of cheques. Merritt Madden employs approximately 50 people in Alexandria in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and works mostly in large formats. The primary output from the site includes prospectuses, marketing documents and trade magazines.
The sale has started tongues wagging in national and NSW politics, as speculation over Premier Carr’s future in NSW State politics begins to gain momentum. Rumours have abounded in recent months over a possible move for Premier Carr to Canberra to pursue a career in Federal politics, or perhaps even to a political post overseas. The sale of the printing business is being viewed by political analysts as possibly clearing the way for the couple to pull up roots and leave the state.
However, in a recent statement, Helena Carr insisted she and her business partner had made the sale as "purely a business decision" because "the right opportunity had come along". In the short-term, she is committing herself to the merger of the company with Blue Star Print Group, which boasts 18 businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
