Tony Burke steals the show at West Side Story opening night

A night at the opera included tears, cheers and stony silence.Credit: Joe Benke

One of the perks of being federal arts minister is you get prime tickets to pretty much every big production to grace these shores.

But Tony Burke was particularly thrilled by Opera Australia’s production of West Side Story, which premiered at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair last Friday, the latest chapter in the company’s annual harbourside extravaganza.

During a speech at the after-party, Burke told the crowd he teared up during the performance, as Leonard Bernstein’s hit holds a special place for him and his wife, Skye Laris. The invites for the couple’s wedding were done like Broadway playbill posters in the style of West Side Story – for Tony and Skye, rather than Tony and Maria (the musical’s leads).

The classic duet One Hand, One Heart played at their ceremony, and their wedding rings are engraved with Te adoro (Spanish for “I adore you”), the words Puerto Rican Maria utters to her Tony in the show.

So far, so mushy. But then Burke broke out of his reverie to acknowledge a former member of parliament in the house – former prime minister Scott Morrison. Cue stony silence among the genteel crowd who would’ve preferred to hear more about Tony and Skye, no doubt.

Morrison is a big fan of Opera on the Harbour, and as CBD reported last year, got his tickets thanks to the event’s patron Haruhisa Handa, the uber-connected Japanese billionaire philanthropist who finds time to moonlight as a wannabe conductor, sect leader and self-help book author.

A testament to just how well-connected Handa is – on Friday night, he was represented by Peter Phillips, grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who flew in from Hong Kong to make a speech.

PITT STOP

Former resources minister Keith Pitt is pretty much the bete noire of teal independents. The mine-loving Nationals member for Hinkler staunchly opposed his own government’s net zero plan until he was offered a cabinet position and seems to be devoting his time in opposition to attending Gina Rinehart’s National Agriculture and Related Industries Day events in Bali and Roy Hill, and carrying lumps of coal around Parliament House.

It’s just the kind of behaviour that made Tesla drivers across Sydney’s leafier suburbs recoil from the Coalition. Undeterred, Pitt is set to show up in Warringah next week, the place that started it all by turfing out Tony Abbott in 2019, to give a talk to Liberals about nuclear energy.

Under Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s leadership, the Coalition has decided going nuclear is the magic electoral sauce, and local federal electoral conference president Alex Dore, a bit of a Liberal about town, decided to invite Pitt, a big uranium-head, to give a speech at Manly Leagues Club.

But Keith’s northern beaches Pitt stop hasn’t gone down too well among some branch members. As minister, Pitt dragged his feet over the future of the controversial offshore gas project Pep-11, which was desperately unpopular among residents in Sydney’s north. Former prime minister Scott Morrison had to use his secret self-appointed ministerial powers to step in and overrule Pitt.

That position, plus Pitt’s general vibe on renewables, haven’t been forgotten among some local Liberals who feel like it sends the wrong message to teal-curious voters, and are annoyed that Dore decided to invite him.

But another source close to the action maintained that there was plenty of interest in hearing from Pitt, and aside from the Pep-11 matter, his only other real difference from the locals was that he didn’t support the Sea Eagles.

DANBY’S DONE

Speaking of Liberal talk-fests north of the bridge, CBD reported last week that former Labor MP Michael Danby was set to share a stage with Sky News’ screecher Rowan Dean at a discussion about antisemitism at Roseville golf club next month.

But just days later, guests received a message from the North Sydney Conservative Forum telling them Danby had “withdrawn from our next function due to a misunderstanding”.

Now it turns out the event in question is a fundraiser for the local Liberal Party, and once we spread word of Danby’s attendance, a few questions started being asked. Danby, a former ALP member, apparently didn’t realise he’d be inadvertently assisting the Liberals to raise money and quickly retreated.

Never fear, the forum found a suitable replacement in David Adler of the Australian Jewish Association, best known for his unsavoury comments about Lidia Thorpe and Stan Grant during last year’s Voice to parliament debate.

SAUDI SUMMER

Last week, CBD took a brief look at the number of Australians leaving home to help Saudi Arabia’s despotic ruler Mohammed bin Salman build a dystopian desert dreamscape big enough to make the world forget about the infamous bonesaw incident.

We’ve since been alerted to the fact that, alongside baby-faced former minister Wyatt Roy, the Aussie contingent includes Sean Halse, twice chief of staff to top Albanese government minister Tony Burke.

We wish they’d all just stick to London.

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