18:41

Folks who follow the goings on in Canberra will know that last night was the midwinter (in early spring) ball that the press gallery puts on every year to raise big bucks for charity. Many readers will also know there is controversy about whether this event is on or off the record.

The organisers have decreed the ball is an off-the-record event. But I’ve long argued that an event where politicians give speeches in front of hundreds of people, most of whom are not bound by an off-the-record convention, cannot be off the record.

I’ve raised this with the organisers of the event, who, for now at least, want the event to remain off the record. I told the organisers this year I would not accept this ruling, because it is practically unenforceable and professionally indefensible. Off the record is a convention that requires consent between journalist and source. To cut a long story short, I don’t consent. I indicated to them I would be reporting anything that was newsworthy.

So was anything newsworthy?



Not massively. Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten both delivered speeches that were lighthearted and, in Shorten’s case, almost entirely self-deprecating. Morrison obviously had the tougher job. Shorten has done this event every year he’s been opposition leader and is now well practised. Obviously, it was Morrison’s first outing, and the weight of recent events was very much in the room.



The new prime minister got through about 70% of the speech before being heckled. A woman shouted “Bring back Malcolm”.



The intervention literally stopped Morrison at the podium, and the room as a whole. I think it’s fair to say there was a collective intake of breath, because it wasn’t clear who had provided the free feedback, and it goes without saying that the government has endured a torrid month. Morrison was obviously taken aback, but he gathered himself quickly and kept going.



Fortunately for the prime minister, it turns out the heckler was the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, rather than a disgruntled colleague who had downed one wine too many. I gather the interjection was intended to be lighthearted, and she apologised.

The ball, in times of political drama, has seen worse. But it was certainly a moment.

