3 months ago
19
By the end of 2024, staff at the Powerhouse Museum had much steam to blow off.
The Ultimo site had shut its doors in February, before the big move to a near billion-dollar Parramatta digs, which won’t open until late 2026.
To celebrate, chief executive Lisa Havilah went all in on silly season celebrations. At an infamous end-of-year party for staff and stakeholders, a chef was hired to performatively carve sashimi from a whole yellowfin tuna. Guests gorged themselves on fat prawns and “market best” oysters, and a giant pavlova decked in peaches, cream and raspberries. All washed down with a diverse selection of wines. At a cost of around $30,000. Taxpayer dollars, of course, although Havilah personally chipped in $5000 for the tuna carving experience.
A whole yellowfin tuna was consumed at Powerhouse Museum’s 2024 Christmas celebration.Credit: Instagram
This wasn’t the extent of the festivities. A day earlier, the museum hosted a separate do for VIP friends at a cost of $11,457, with food and beverages provided by caterer-to-the-stars John Wilson, best known for doing Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s wedding.
Times have changed. While the Powerhouse defended its 2024 extravagance at the time, the museum is opting for a more modest affair this year. How modest? Well, we’re told this week’s Christmas drinks are at Cafe 80, the University of Technology Sydney’s on-campus bar and caterer, across the road from the old Ultimo site. And staff will have to pay their own way.
Spare a thought for any new starters who missed last year’s performative fish carving, instead getting to enjoy this year’s performative display of frugality.
Cut Price conference
Two years after helping tank the Indigenous Voice to parliament, the internet trolls at Advance are trying to figure out where to next in an era of Labor dominance.
The conservative lobby group has already taken credit for the Greens losing three seats in the May federal election, and, more recently, the Liberal Party’s decision to adopt the Nationals’ energy policy by dumping net zero.
Up next? Advance’s very first conference, scheduled for next February in Darling Harbour. A rival to the ever-exciting Conservative Political Action Conference? The jury is out. While CPAC occasionally draws the odd reactionary celebrity – Nigel Farage has been a couple of times, Britain’s five-minute prime minister Liz Truss too – Advance’s line-up looks a little lacklustre.
Loading
Country Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is there, of course. Sacked from Sussan Ley’s Coalition cabinet, she is now free to talk as much electorally poisonous nonsense about Indian immigrants as she likes, which will no doubt be lapped up by the Advance crowd.
There’s also a panel of “thought leaders” including former ABC chair and hot-take machine Maurice Newman. Prospective guests worried about a lack of overseas talent need not fear. From the United States, will come rising MAGA media personality and Steve Bannon protege Natalie Winters.
“Filmmaker” Joel Gilbert, known for peddling numerous conspiracy theories about Barack Obama, is also on the list.
The whole thing is a lot more far-right Fyre Festival than conservative Coachella. All this for the full registration cost of $600. We would rather be at the Ubud Writers Festival.
Open season
Just as Christmas retail activity creeps ever earlier each year (mince pies in October!), so too does the onset – or do we mean onslaught? – of the Australian Open.
The Melbourne tennis tournament shunted aside its namesake golf event not once but twice this week as the race by corporations to wring ever more mileage out of their multimillion-dollar marketing spends became a competition between beauty bigwig Mecca and official sponsor Emirates.
On Wednesday, at Cremorne rooftop events space Ciel, overlooking Melbourne Park, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley arrived at the Emirates AO launch with a news deliverable.
Loading
“The ticket sales are tracking as the best ever … by a considerable amount,” Tiley said.
“Ticket sales are well ahead of where they were in 2025,” he told the crowd, which included “social personalities” including Brooke Warne, Hannah Dal Sasso and Maria Thattil.
Earlier, tennis great Lleyton Hewitt had stopped by to talk about how great the tennis is and how great Emirates is, while Collingwood star Josh Daicos patiently talked about how great the AFL is, how great the tennis is, and his recent great trip to Dubai (Emirates is a sponsor of Collingwood, and based in Dubai – everything is connected).
Barry Brown, vice president Australasia for Emirates, explained the airline was an 11-year sponsorship partnership, which was extended through to 2029.
“It’s a friendship. We grow together,” Brown intoned, before regaling the crowd with an anecdote about how he once played Pat Rafter on grass – and beat him. Turns out it was golf! With an ability to frame the narrative like that, Brown should consider a career in marketing.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
