The chandeliers jangled, the shirt collars rustled and the musty air crackled at the Melbourne Club on Monday evening when, right on the dinner hour, member Michael Wooldridge strode into its constipated dining room with former reality TV contestant Sam Dastyari as his guest. The glares cast in their direction could scarcely have been less warm had Sarah Hanson-Young been traipsing in behind them.

The honourable doctor does, on occasion, resemble an unmade bed. And Dasher was in need of a good wash well before he entered the jungle (and the wilderness). The scene could’ve easily been mistaken for an episode of Steptoe and Son. And a pairing even the sommelier will have appreciated. Still, such vulgar company is rarely kept at 36 Collins Street.