Midwinter Ball 2018: Pollies party on Canberra’s big night
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison raises thousands for charity with his offer of a curry date as he and Bill Shorten put on a rare display of unity at the annual Midwinter Ball.
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has offered up his curry cooking skills for charity, raising $12,000 at a silent auction on Canberra’s night of nights.
Mr Morrison offered up the exclusive dinner for four at Kirribilli House as the big ticket item to raise money for charity at the Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball in Canberra. Bidding for the dinner started at $5000.
Australia’s political elite got a chance to let their hair down at the ball after a brutal month in politics.
The ball, now in its 19th year, raised $275,000 for charity, taking the total it has raised to date to $4.1 million.
Bill Shorten also offered his time for charity, raising $5000 for a “quiet bottle of wine and a chat” with the Opposition Leader and his deputy Tanya Plibersek.
The ball raised money for charities Beacon, Bosom Buddies, Foyer Foundation, GivIT, Indigenous Reading Project, Marymead, Mummy’s Wish and TLC for Kids.
Usually held in the third week of June, the ball was rescheduled because of renovations which closed the Great Hall of Parliament House.
For the first time in years Julie Bishop did not expected to attend after she quit her portfolio as Foreign Affairs Minister following the volatile leadership coup against Malcolm Turnbull.
As Foreign Affairs Minister she was a major contributor to the charity fundraising.
Dramatic changes in federal politics since last year were clear at the ball.
Last year, the then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce attended with his wife Natalie, cracking a stock whip in Parliament’s entrance hall.
The couple have since split, and Mr Joyce is now on the backbench after he stepped down as Nationals Leader following the scandal surrounding his affair with staffer Vikki Campion.
Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy were in New York rather than front and centre at the ball after the former PM decided to quit politics in the wake of last month’s leadership spill.
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