Fashion statements and surprise couple’s debut at Midwinter ball
Labor MP Josh Burns with Victorian state MP Georgie Purcell (left), and Senator Lidia Thorpe (right) at the ball. Photo: AAP/TND
Greens-turned-independent senator Lidia Thorpe has set tongues wagging at Canberra’s Midwinter Ball with a politically charged dress.
The Victorian senator wore a white dress emblazoned with the contentious phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at Parliament House on Wednesday night.
She also carried a bag with “love harder” on it.
In early June, Labor voted with the Coalition in the Senate to condemn the phrase that some consider is a call for the abolition of Israel.
The Greens last week sought to have the upper house declare the recognition of Palestinian statehood amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Labor senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor to vote for the doomed motion with Thorpe and independent senator David Pocock, leading to her suspension from Labor’s parliamentary caucus.
Lidia Thorpe’s dress and bag make a statement. Photo: AAP
In another fashion statement on the night, Labor frontbencher Anne Aly was spotted with “end violence against women” on her jacket following a recent spate of high-profile deaths.
Labor MP Josh Burns stepped out with Victorian state MP Georgie Purcell for their first public appearance as a couple.
Their relationship has sparked curiosity given their differing views on the Middle East conflict, with Burns from the Jewish community and Purcell a member of the Animal Justice Party and of the Victorian parliament’s progressive crossbench.
Josh Burns and Georgie Purcell debut their surprise relationship. Photo: AAP
The parliamentary press gallery’s annual Midwinter Ball features politicians and company bosses from the country coming together to network, celebrate journalism and raise money for charity.
It is not uncommon for attendees to make a political statement through an outfit, with Labor senator Jana Stewart and Green senator Sarah Hanson-Young doing so in recent years.
The prestigious press gallery journalist of the year was awarded to Nine News national affairs editor Andrew Probyn.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with fiancee Jodie Haydon. Photo: AAP
-AAP
