PM faces tough crowd as corporate bosses assemble for Business Council dinner

Few events in business and politics get the high-calibre turnout that the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner has come to deliver.

And that’s before factoring in the will-he-won’t-he speculation over whether Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn would be among the major corporates to show face for the get-together at the Sofitel Hotel in Sydney’s CBD on Tuesday evening. (To our surprise, Comyn was there.)

The guest list had no shortage of talent. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was billed as the headline guest, with a gaggle of senior Labor figures in tow.

Also from the government, Trade Minister Don Farrell , showed up to mingle with execs ahead of dinner, as did Assistant Science, Technology and Digital Economy Minister Andrew Charlton , and Assistant Productivity Minister Andrew Leigh , who, if our eyes didn’t deceive us, arrived to the ballroom with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

But if reporting from our colleagues on Monday was any indicator, Albanese was no doubt bracing for a tough crowd. The star-studded audience was led by BCA chief executive Bran Black , who was preparing to send the government a warning shot on productivity, according to speech notes reported by this masthead.

Our guess is Black will have no shortage of backers for his message. The top executives of Australia’s biggest companies were expected to turn out in force for the annual get-together, including Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady , Coles chief Leah Weckert and representatives from the big four banks.

Apart from Comyn, the bankers included NAB chairman Philip Chronican , who was on the list but who we didn’t get eyes on, as well as Westpac chief Anthony Miller and ANZ’s still-relatively-new CEO Nuno Matos . Also expected were Citi chief executive Mark Woodruff and Macquarie boss ⁠ Stuart Green .

Public servants were also well represented. ASIC chair Sarah Court and ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb were each set to turn out for the function, as was Steven Kennedy , secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson . Jan Adams , secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was also expected to go along, as was Department of Climate Change and Energy secretary Mike Kaiser .

As with all of these types of functions, there is always a reliable turnout from the hangers-on. So it was little surprise to see former federal treasurer turned Trump whisperer Joe Hockey back on the list this year, along with former defence minister Christopher Pyne . The pair were among the eager and enthusiastic who turned up unfashionably early. (Those relationships aren’t going to cultivate themselves.)

It was only last month that Australia discovered Anthony Albanese would “shag” pop icon Kylie Minogue in a game of “shag, marry, date” after the unfortunate revelation emerged on comedian Nikki Osborne’s Bush Deep podcast.

The unedifying response has haunted the PM ever since and makes the prospect of Albo potentially crossing paths with Minogue at the AFL grand final at the MCG next month quite delicious.