By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
Stuart Broad waiting for his baggage in Sydney.
Spotted: Melbourne Airport, just before 9am, former England Test cricketer Stuart Broad, fresh from his triumphant appearance on The Front Bar, wearing an oversized white T-shirt, slimline trousers and on-trend Birkenstock Bostons trying to sneak onto Flight QF422 to Sydney when group 3 was boarding. But the England fast bowler turned commentator was actually in boarding group 4, and soon found out just what a stickler for boarding protocol the national carrier was when, well, computer said no.
After the beep of rejection, the ever-patriotic Qantas flight attendant made Broad take a walk, something Broad does not like to do.
Truly, the Spirit of Australia in action.
“He looked a little peeved but no blow-up,” our observer told CBD.
The incident confirms every Australian public prejudice about Broad. If there’s one thing we hate more than an England fast bowler, it’s an England fast bowler queue jumper.
Briefly between engagements
Federal Liberal MP Tim Wilson has a preternatural ability to reframe circumstances to suit himself. So far, so politician.
Regular readers will recall that this column had labelled Wilson “shadow minister for the Melbourne Cup” over his dummy spit about a parliamentary sitting day this year killing off his chances of attending the Melbourne Cup, which he said was “very anti-Melbourne”. Wilson on Wednesday adopted the title for his X bio.
Now the member for Goldstein is claiming victory after one day in his unofficial job. Federal parliament has announced its sitting schedule for 2026 and it will not sit on Tuesday, November 3 – next year’s Cup Day. What a scamp!
Health Equity Matters president Mark Orr, ALP Member for Griffith Renee Coffey, Liberal MP for Goldstein Tim Wilson and Health Equity Matters CEO Dash Heath-Paynter at Thursday’s World AIDS Day parliamentary breakfast.
One federal parliamentary colleague who is not a fan of Wilson is Monique Ryan, teal independent in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, not so far from Goldstein, where Wilson defeated Ryan’s teal colleague, Zoe Daniel, by 175 votes.
On Thursday morning, Wilson co-chaired a World AIDS Day breakfast event at Parliament House along with Labor MP Renee Coffey, where Foreign Minister Penny Wong gave a speech.
Ryan, we hear, was asked to be in a photo with Wilson, and declined.
Intrigued, we asked her office about the refusal and received this reply.
“Monique attended the breakfast briefly between engagements. She had a photo with Dash Heath-Paynter and Mark Orr – the CEO and president of Health Equity Matters – but had to leave to attend a briefing about CSIRO funding.”
Hood has the answer
North Melbourne president Sonja Hood had a frank answer when asked to share her thoughts about what separates female leaders from men.
“Boobs” was her unexpectedly forthright reply in front of a packed Members Dining Room at the MCG on Thursday for the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s AFLW Grand Final Lunch.
North Melbourne president Sonja Hood.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Hood, who is chief executive of the Scanlon Foundation, brought the house down. After the raucous laughter subsided, Hood swatted aside threats to take away her microphone privileges and discussed the incredible stories female athletes and leaders had to share, recognising how their actions could be amplified in a way that was both an advantage and burden.
She left the best until last: “We are not there just to take the diversity box and we’re not there just to be nice ... We’re there because we’re actually bloody good at what we do.”
PM party
Breaking news world exclusive: Anthony Albanese has a cold.
On the penultimate sitting day of the year, the prime minister braved a springtime lurgy to entertain press gallery hacks, invited into The Lodge for annual end-of-year drinks.
Under the weather: Anthony Albanese as parliament wraps up for the year on Thursday. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Dressed in an off-duty ensemble of a Nick Cave T-shirt (the Joy Division one was in the wash) and Ray-Bans, Albanese joked about how the crowd were unlikely to hear news of him turning gay. Apparently, storied pundit Niki Savva’s new book contains an anecdote about how the PM would be marrying Chris, the chef at The Lodge, if first fiancee Jodie Haydon wasn’t in the picture.
Albo didn’t completely bomb, managing to draw a few nervous laughs.
While embattled Liberal leader Sussan Ley couldn’t muster much of a turnout among her colleagues for her own media do in the Coalition party room on Monday night, CBD’s spies spotted Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Labor national secretary Paul Erickson, and occasional acting prime minister Richard Marles schmoozing at The Lodge.
Albo also told the thirsty inmates of Parliament House that they had just 30 minutes to drink up before being sent to bed, a reference to his habit of cutting the annual party short in case somebody wound up intoxicated in the pool.
Meanwhile, the Coalition held its own Christmas party back in the big house, while Labor staff gathered to celebrate a big year at Assembly: The People’s Pub, a slop den in Canberra’s inner north just metres away from the spot where Nationals defector Barnaby Joyce was found sprawled on the footpath muttering obscenities into his phone.
Inevitably, most ended up back at the Kingo.
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