Labor ministers ignore Albo’s edict and say yup to the cup

Furphy Lion’s boss Adam Furphy seems to have cracked the secret to standing out from the crowd of Birdcage marquees on Melbourne Cup day.

Perhaps it’s obvious to a man in the beer business, but the Lion’s Furphy tent was a hit among Flemington’s most well-heeled punters because it was among the only ones with plentiful toilet stalls attached.

It sure seemed better attended than more fancied rivals Lexus, Tabcorp, G H Mumm, Paramount, Treasury Wines Estates and Penfolds.

The buzz around the course was that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had warned his ministers and MPs not to be seen indulging in lavish corporate hospitality on the day, not with the cost of living crisis and yet another interest rate rise announced on Tuesday.

Albanese was in Melbourne on Monday but returned to Sydney on Tuesday to prowl the streets of Marrickville in his seat of Grayndler (where many increasingly woke pubs now boycott the cup) in search of selfie opportunities with constituents.

So he wouldn’t have seen his Sports Minister Annika Wells, Trade Minister Don Farrell, and local Senator Raf Ciccione, all spotted in the Furphy tent. They could probably plead the call of nature if they find themselves in strife with the boss.

Picking up the Tab

While loos were a big draw for Furphy, the Tabcorp marquee next door remained the place to be for political whispers. By mid-morning, the Nationals had occupied the tent’s far-flung regions, with leader David Littleproud in attendance alongside colleagues Michael McCormack and Bridget McKenzie, while Liberal shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson also popped up, perhaps as an observer.

McCormack, a former Nationals leader, spent the morning deep in conversation with former ABC chair and now non-executive director of the gambling giant Justin Milne, maybe reminiscing on the good old days, when Milne had an interesting role in the Coalition’s long war on the ABC.

Bridget McKenzie, Nationals leader David Littleproud and Michael McCormack at the race.Credit:Samantha Hutchinson

Littleproud had an eventful day, starting out with an appearance on Sydney’s 2GB radio where he tipped number 18, Lunar Flare, for the big race not long before the horse was ruled out of the running.

Then he showed up at Flemington on a boat which travelled to the course along the Maribyrnong River. Maybe he was practising for the coming week, when he will be visiting the flood-affected regions of Victoria while trying to help his local colleagues keep their election chances afloat.

Also holding court was NSW state Liberal minister turned lobbying supremo Michael Photios, and former PM Scott Morrison’s old principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein, who had much to discuss with shadow health minister Anne Ruston.

Clive Palmer’s $100 million Senator Ralph Babet, making a name for himself as a bit of a man about town, was also floating around the Birdcage, although his mind was less on racing and more on the failures of Liberal leader Peter Dutton, who he described to CBD as a “wet lettuce”.

Good sports

It just wouldn’t be Melbourne Cup without the international sporting legends who just seem to materialise at the event, and uber-successful former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and West Indies test batting great Brian Lara caught CBD’s eye.

These appearances don’t happen by accident and it was soon made clear by Lexus’ PR people that Sir Alex was there to have his famous face seen at the upmarket carmaker’s marquee along with singing swimmer Cody Simpson, Masterchef star Melissa Leong, Olympic pool stars Ariarne Titmus and sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell – and a bunch of C and D listers.

But round-ball enthusiasts were jarred by the claim in publicity material that the horse-mad Ferguson played for and coached United, when a five-second Google search could have told you that the great man never kicked a ball competitively for the club.

Also rubbing shoulders in the Lexus marquee were more of the carmaker’s brand ambassadors, including designer Bettina Liano and RedBalloon founder and Shark Tank judge Naomi Simson.

Meanwhile, in Sydney

Flemington might be the place to be on Cup day, but plenty of the Harbour City’s political and business leaders were unwilling to risk a Qantas flight down to cold, sodden Melbourne, opting for Royal Randwick’s Big Dance race instead.

The Tab marquee played host to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland (who must have missed Albo’s memo), NSW Treasurer Matt Kean and partner Wendy Quinn, his predecessor Andrew Constance (who quit to unsuccessfully run for Federal Parliament) and former state Labor leader Michael Daley.

And just to ensure Liberal has-beens outnumbered the party’s swiftly dwindling ministerial talent, former deputy leader Stuart Ayres and his partner, ex-foreign minister Marise Payne made an appearance as they are wont to do on race days.

The Sydney event was hosted by Tom Callachor.

While News Corp’s Executive Chairman Australasia Michael Miller was spotted struggling with an umbrella at Flemington along with Sky News CEO Paul “Boris” Whittacker, Murdoch’s other local lieutenants avoided the trip down south, with The Australian editor Michelle Gunn and The Daily Telegraph’s Ben English spotted in the ballroom, which was also graced by Seven boss James Warburton and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Howard.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article