Scott Morrison’s jaw-dropping joke at the Midwinter Ball

A filthy rumour has plagued Prime Minister Scott Morrison for years. At Canberra’s glitziest event last night, he finally addressed it.

The Midwinter Ball was held last night, bringing both sides of politics together to mingle, tell jokes, have a drink, maybe dance and most importantly, raise money for charity.

It was a little different this year — for the first time ever, the speeches by major party leaders Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese were on the record.

That did raise some fears among my colleagues here that the speeches would by dry and boring. But both men still reeled off some jokes, including one absolute whopper from the Prime Minister.

The context here is that a filthy rumour has plagued Mr Morrison for years. A rumour — which I must stress very vociferously is unsubstantiated — that he soiled himself at Engadine McDonald’s in 1997 after his NRL team, the Cronulla Sharks, lost the grand final. Or maybe it was the week before, after they won the preliminary final. The details are sketchy.

Needless to say, Mr Morrison doesn’t usually speak about the rumour publicly, because why would he? But last night, on the record, he decided to poke fun at it.

“What really happened at the Engadine McDonald’s in 1997? It will remain the mystery of the ages,” Mr Morrison said, sparking something of an uproar from the politicians, journalists and corporate types in the audience.

It’s always nice to see our politicians have a little fun at their own expense, so full credit to Mr Morrison here.

Last night’s ball raised $340,000 for charity.

Sky News political editor David Speers and The Daily Telegraph’s Sharri Markson deservedly shared the Press Gallery Journalist of the Year award.

But if we’re honest, the biggest focus was on what our politicians and their spouses were wearing.

Many people commented on the gorgeousness of independent Senator Jacqui Lambie’s frock at the Midwinter Ball last night.

This morning she said she was “chuffed” at the reaction, and revealed it cost just $300.

I gather that is quite a bargain.

I had a lot of fun last night at the Midwinter Ball, which raised more than $300,000 for charity. Chuffed to see the comments about my dress. Not bad for a $300 buy. pic.twitter.com/WQ3W95k1tY

— Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) September 19, 2019

Meanwhile, The Australian reports an “ABC star” — it doesn’t name her — made a very, very mild fuss over her own gown on a Qantas flight yesterday.

“This is a $5000 dress!” she said, reportedly in response to the idea of stuffing it in the overhead locker.

I’m not saying it was Virginia Trioli. And Virginia Trioli is not explicitly saying it was Virginia Trioli. All I can tell you is that Virginia Trioli shared a link to the story on Twitter and thanked the Qantas staff who looked after her on her flight.

A shoutout to the gorgeous @Qantas staff who looked after me, and a frock, tonight: nobody shouted, nothing was stuffed - except for this bullshit in ⁦@australian⁩ . Great night at the #MidWinter ball with more than $300k raised for charity. https://t.co/XIDj2Ee20J

— Virginia Trioli (@LaTrioli) September 18, 2019

Whatever efforts they made to accommodate the dress were clearly worth it, because Virginia did of course look stunning.

Our photographer Gary Ramage captured these images of her.

Virginia Trioli at the Midwinter ball at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Virginia Trioli at the Midwinter ball at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Virginia Trioli at the Midwinter ball at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

James Jeffrey with Virginia Trioli at the Midwinter Ball at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

James Jeffrey with Virginia Trioli at the Midwinter Ball at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Fun fact — the fetching gentleman in the kilt is James Jeffrey, who left The Australian a few months ago to join Anthony Albanese’s staff as his speech writer.