Inquiry told of Powerhouse Museum gala’s fundraising fiasco

Julie Bishop was the big drawcard for the Powerhouse Museum’s fashion fundraiser. But an inquiry heard it descended into a drunken employee free-for-all.

Staff at a Powerhouse Museum fundraising gala attended by Julie Bishop — and which ended with employees indulging in a drunken free-for-all — were unable to direct the then foreign minister towards potential donors to the museum, according to evidence given at a parliamentary inquiry.

An employee at the MAAS Fashion Ball in Sydney, described as Witness C in in-camera evidence, described senior museum staff helping themselves to bottles of champagne and vodka, partying into the early hours in the museum director’s office, vomiting in the toilets, and other guests ­appearing to sniff white powder.

One employee was so drunk she could not walk unassisted.

About 300 people attended the MAAS Ball, in February 2018, the Powerhouse’s first attempt at a lavish fundraising gala in support of building its fashion collection. It cost $388,000 to run and raised $70,000. The inquiry’s final report says the ball has prompted “serious concerns” about the management, leadership and culture at the Powerhouse Museum.

The museum’s director at the time, Dolla Merrillees, has since resigned.

Witness C, who provided the inquiry with video footage of staff dancing on tables, said Ms Bishop and NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin were at the party but had left by the time staff members had taken bottles of alcohol to the ­offices upstairs. Ms Bishop had attended the ball to assist with fundraising, Witness C said, but when she arrived staff were unable to tell her which potential donors she should meet.

“She was there to work the room and try to help them raise money, and she turned around and said, ‘Who do you want me to talk to?’ and they shrugged and said, ‘I do not know’,” the witness said. “They had no game plan of what she was there for.”

Evidence of three witnesses was given in-camera last month and a redacted transcript has been released. Another witness, Janet McDonald, a former member of the governing Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Trust, said she resigned because she was frustrated in her attempts to scrutinise a budget for the MAAS Ball.

The state government plans to move the Powerhouse from Ultimo to Parramatta in a contentious scheme that opponents say will cost up to $1.5 billion, but which the government says will cost the taxpayer $645 million.