A dazzling array of actors, politicians and TV stars attended an election night party on Saturday hosted by media power couple Lisa Wilkinson and Peter FitzSimons at their multi-million dollar Sydney waterfront mansion.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s victory over Prime Minister Scott Morrison was said to have been a “healing” experience for the mostly left-wing guests, who were devastated by Bill Shorten’s unexpected defeat in 2019, reports The Australian.
Married actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward joined forces with the likes of WSFM radio duo Brendan “Jonesy” Jones and Amanda Keller at the exclusive event, which saw attendees “party until the wee hours.”
Actors, politicians and TV stars attended an election night party hosted by Lisa Wilkinson and Peter FitzSimons at their Sydney harborside mansion on Saturday. (Wilkinson is seen here with actor Simon Baker and journalists Julia Baird and Jennifer Byrne)
The most prominent guest was actor Simon Baker, the Tasmanian-born star of hit US TV show The Mentalist and Hollywood films like The Devil Wears Prada.
The day before the high-profile gathering, Baker was pictured outside a primary voting booth in Sydney’s Bondi Junction speaking to Allegraspender.
Mrsspender, the blue-green independent candidate for the Wentworth division, ousted Liberal MP Dave Sharma on Saturday.
Wilkinson and FitzSimons (right) throw a party at their multi-million dollar home every election night, inviting the who’s who of media, politics and the arts
The most prominent guest was the actor Simon Baker, star of the US TV show “The Mentalist” and films like “The Devil Wears Prada”. (He was pictured outside a primary voting booth in Sydney’s Bondi Junction on Friday chatting with blue-green independent Allegraspender.)
Married actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward (pictured at the Sydney Film Festival on May 8, 2019) joined forces with the likes of WSFM radio duo Brendan ‘Jonesy at the exclusive event, which saw attendees “celebrate to the core”. ‘Jones and Amanda Keller Std’
Among the guests was British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson (pictured March 24), who is a supporter of Britain’s Labor Party, and later tweeted: “What a night in Australia!”
British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, known for supporting Britain’s Labor Party, was also in attendance and later tweeted, “What a night in Australia!”
Several notable journalists were on the guest list, including ABC presenters Julia Baird and Jennifer Byrne, who posed for a celebratory Instagram selfie with Wilkinson that night.
The Sunday Project host captioned the photo: “Well that was a fun night. This is for you, Brittany Higgins.”
Top breakfast radio hosts Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones (pictured November 19, 2015) were on the guest list at Wilkinson and FitzSimons’ traditional election night party
Several notable journalists were on the guest list, including Kate McClymont (pictured July 26, 2018), an investigative reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald
Wilkinson has long been an advocate of Ms Higgins, a former Liberal Party staffer who claims she was sexually assaulted by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019, and has since been an outspoken critic of the Morrison government.
Completing the Journo contingent were Kate McClymont, an investigative reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, and Mike Carlton, who formerly hosted a 2UE radio show with FitzSimons, and several producers from Channel 10’s The Project.
Former Queensland Prime Minister Peter Beattie represented Labor in the Wilkinson-FitzSimons electoral party.
The most prominent Liberal in attendance was NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, a Morrison critic whose pro-climate action stance has put him at odds with some members of his own party.
Writer Thomas Keneally, whose non-fiction book Schindler’s Ark was adapted by director Steven Spielberg into the Oscar-winning 1993 film Schindler’s List, “delighted the assembled crowd with an impromptu poetry reading,” according to Media Diary.
Wilkinson and FitzSimons throw a party at their lavish home every election night, inviting the who’s who of media, politics and the arts.
The 2019 event was said to have been a somber affair as Morrison claimed a “miracle” victory over Labor leader Shorten, who was widely predicted to win.
Anthony Albanese (pictured May 21) will become Australia’s 31st Prime Minister