“Did I say that?” she asked at one point.
Yes indeed senator, you did.
Price followed with this gentle admonishment to travelling hacks.
“So, let’s be very, very clear. The media, you’re all obsessed with Donald Trump, we’re not. We’re not obsessed with Donald Trump. We are actually obsessed with ensuring that we can improve the circumstances for Australians.”
Well, up to a point senator.
Now opponents are gleefully circulating a Christmas snap of the “not obsessed” good senator wearing … a gold-lettered “Make America Great Again” cap. Bougie MAGA, you might say.
In the traditional “from my family to yours” Christmas family snap, Price poses in front of a Christmas tree with her award-winning songwriter and musician husband Colin Lillie.
“From my family to yours, I hope you have had an absolutely wonderful Christmas filled with love and happiness!!”
Lillie is sporting a Make America Great Again Santa Claus hat, a festive adaptation we definitely did not see coming. Someone is holding a teeny tiny Trump figurine in the foreground of the shot.
Full of questions, we asked Coalition election HQ for a response. So far, we haven’t heard back.
Gather Round Close Encounter
The people you meet. There was man-of-the-moment Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, walking along the River Torrens, because that’s the sort of thing active AFL types do when they find themselves in Adelaide for Gather Round.
CBD imagines he had been musing over the headlines that exploded after his secret meeting with West Coast Eagles co-captain Oscar Allen (who will soon be out of contract) when who should be run slap bang into? Andrew McQualter, coach of … the West Coast Eagles.
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There weren’t any fireworks between the pair, who do know each other, but CBD hears McQualter did quip that Mitchell had caused him to have a couple of big weeks.
Mitchell responded in kind with a “welcome to the world of a senior AFL coach”.
Elsewhere in Adelaide, the 2KW rooftop bar was the place to be, where about 25 partners of AFL club presidents and the chief executive staged their own gather round for a drink and chat.
Organised in part by Jenny Richardson, wife of Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson, and Kelly Silvers, spouse of Adelaide Crows chief executive Tim Silvers, it was a fairly private affair, save for the appearance of Adelaide’s version of Eddie Everywhere, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas. Making his umpteenth personal appearance of the tournament, it appears Malinauskas knows where real power lies.
Katie v Katy
It’s not over.
What’s been described as a David v Goliath battle between faded pop star Katy Perry, and Sydney fashion designer Katie Taylor over a trademark dispute, will finally be resolved this year.
Taylor, who sells clothes under her birth name, Katie Perry, first received a cease and desist from the pop star’s lawyers in 2009. A Federal Court battle began in 2019, with Justice Brigitte Markovic ruling in favour of the designer four years later, in a judgment that opened with the iconic line: “This is a tale of two women, two teenage dreams and one name.”
But the pop star’s lawyers successfully appealed that case. Taylor sought special leave to appeal to the High Court, which was granted last week, opening the door to a final twist in that very long tale.
Fox birthday bash
Poor Anthony Albanese. Apart from fighting Tories, if there is one thing our prime minister loves, it’s attending parties thrown by billionaires.
A few weeks ago, he flew from Sydney to Melbourne to attend Anthony Pratt’s VISY packaging industry party at family mansion Raheen in Kew, where Air Supply and DJ Marc Ronson performed.
But we are sad to report that election campaign duties kept PM31 absent last Tuesday when trucking magnate Lindsay Fox staged his 88th birthday with his traditional men-only whisky lunch at Japanese restaurant Nobu at Melbourne’s Crown complex.
Attendees included PM28 Tony Abbott, trumpet warbler James Morrison, restructuring expert Mark Korda, former unionist and firm Fox friend Bill Kelty, fellow billionaire John Gandel, former Victorian premiers Jeff Kennett and Dan Andrews as well as Fox offspring, including sons Peter, David and Andrew Fox and assorted grandsons.
The dress code was tartan.
Rumour has it that the affair cost $85,000 – before any tips – but of course, it’s beyond CBD to confirm that.
One source told us that the wait staff were mainly male as well, but two other sources assured us that was not the case, although it is clear the men were in the majority. Crown wouldn’t comment, but we hope their gender-equality policy extends to the equal division of tips.
Shortly after the party, Fox took off for Hawaii on the family Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft for more birthday festivities at his family compound on Kahala Avenue in Honolulu to celebrate his actual birthday, which falls on April 19. Nothing like getting in early!
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