At Sydney's Sofitel Wentworth on Thursday evening, scene of John Howard's four victories and of Malcolm Turnbull's kinda-sorta-one, it was more a question of who wasn't there at the Business Council of Australia's annual dinner.
Well hardly anyone from the Labor Party, they were at home studying Donald Trump's anti-globalisation playbook. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned out before his 9:30 take-off for Lima and his final APEC bromance with Barack Obama, and the crowd veritably sagging under the weight of Order of Australia pins lapped up a mildly obsequious sizzle reel on the achievements of outgoing BCA president Catherine Livingstone (whose clipped North Shore dialect is reminiscent of a young Elizabeth in Netflix's The Crown).
As for the roll call, here goes: the PM's chief mandarin Martin Parkinson and communications secretary Heather Smith chatted with ANZ chairman David Gonski and new RBA Governor Philip Lowe, as Treasury Secretary John Fraser did with RBA Board member Heather Ridout (telling her, excitedly, "I just bought a farm!") as temporarily (he hopes) banished Tabcorp director Elmer Funke Kupper worked the power clusters nearby. ACCC boss Rod Sims was chatting to columnist John Durie. Funny given they do that all day…
Sims' predecessor Graeme Samuel was in a corner with former Westpac chief and now Woolworths (the David Jones parent, not the flagging grocer) director Gail Kelly while The Australian's editor in chief Paul "Boris" Whittaker – a man on a TAB winning streak and seated at dinner next to Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos – was deep in conversation with UBS boss Matthew Grounds (at least until Lend Lease CEO Steve McCann dragged him away for a chat).
BCA directors Ian Narev of That Bank (fresh from date night with wife Frances at Potts Point's Fratelli Paradiso on Tuesday) and Alan Joyce of the pawless kangaroo formed their own cabal, beside former Fairfax directors Peter Young and Roger Corbett (now chair of American generic drug flogger Mayne Pharma) and former Macquarie and Origin chair Kevin McCann.
McCann was, of course, succeeded at Origin by Woolies fixer-in-chief Gordon Cairns, the Scot who finally dispatched Grant King, and left the BCA with someone to lure into Livingstone's gig. Big Gordo sat with his former Board colleague at Westpac Ewen Crouch, the PM's chief economist Peter Hendy and Australian Bankers' Association chief Steven Munchenberg.
The PM's chief of staff Drew Clarke had industry minister Greg Hunt in a corner as special minister of minister Scott Ryan came off the escalators almost on the fumes behind Hunt's pre-predecessor Ian Macfarlane, now CEO at the Queensland Resources Council, and News Corp's local boss Michael Miller with Daily Telegraph editor Chris Dore (who needs a shave) and Telstra chief executive Andy Penn, on his mobile, so the only guy in the building who could get reception.
Joyce was chatting with under-fire Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs. Nobody else would be seen speaking to her. Where would affable Irishmen be in this country without the protection of 18C? Probably still in the industrial relations commission…
The Dubliner's boss Leigh Clifford was in the house too, as were SEEK chief Andrew Bassat, AMP chair Catherine Brenner and her sister-in-law Maxine Brenner (of Orica, Origin and Qantas Board fame), ASX chair Rick Holliday-Smith, taking Movember in his stride as always, finance minister Mathias Cormann, Westpac chairman (and BHP chairman-in-waiting) Lindsay Maxsted, Corrs Chambers Wesgarth boss John Denton, Gresham's Charles Graham and his father James Graham, Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder and Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins (both also BCA directors), Liberal MP Craig Laundy, ABC chair Jim Spigelman, NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, AGL Energy boss Andy Vesey and one of his directors Belinda Hutchinson, AFL Commissioner Gabrielle Trainor, Carnival chief, Ann Sherry, ASIC boss Greg Medcraft, Fairfax's James Millar, Stockland CEO, Mark Steinert, DFAT Secretary Frances Adamson, Optus chair Paul O'Sullivan, EnergyAustralia CEO Catherine Tanna, Medibank Private boss Craig Drummond, Microsoft's Pip Marlow and former BCA chief Katie Lahey. Her successor Jennifer Westacott outdid herself as mistress of ceremonies – shutting up the gathered mob on multiple occasions by threatening to withhold their supper.
The PM's speech was as wonky as Livingstone's accent is plummy, but it played to the crowd perfectly by sending them to sleep. Hey, no Trump voters here, so big words are king!
But the last word must go to Gonski, who said to us in the lobby, "this must be orgasmic for you." Er, not so much. But then, it was still early days…
