Kerry Stokes gathers the oligarchs to kiss the ring

But attendees reported Twiggy had several “friendly” conversations with Stokes. His Minderoo Foundation did a “double giving hour”, matching any dollar raised from people donating to the Telethons Kids Institute. Twiggy’s total giving for the night hit $2.3 million.

And what a cast of characters in the audience.

Mineral Resources chief Chris Ellison was there, as was new WA Premier Roger Cook, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and now-Perth city lawyer Christian Porter. Rio Tinto had a table for government corporate affairs staff, while WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson sat next to The West editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie.

Fresh off being named Western Australian of the Year, Gina Rinehart rolled deep with Hancock hangers on. Earlier that week, Rinehart filed papers to establish a critical minerals-focused investment vehicle, part of her audacious raid on Liontown. She was spotted dancing at the end of the night, near Deputy Premier and Treasurer Rita Saffioti.

You could bet lithium miner Tim Goyder must have been rolling his eyes from across the room. His cousin Richard Goyder, chair of Telethon et al, attended with wife Janine. Everywhere the permanently embattled Goyder goes at the moment, he becomes the butt of the joke. Even here, among friendlies and on home soil, there were Qantas and Qatar jokes flung in his direction.

The night’s entertainment was provided by singers Rhonda Burchmore and Marcia Hines, which will do nothing to shake the notion that Perth is living on a very different timeline to the rest of the country.

Seating charts have always been about power and who has access to it. On the top table with the Kerry crew was the “exhausted” Mark McGowan and his wife Sarah. Stokes and the former premier have a deep personal bond that critics say is problematic. Was “four jobs” Mark now pitching for another?

Anthony Albanese couldn’t make the ball due to his US trip, but that didn’t stop him flying into WA on Friday to kiss Kerry’s ring. Albo increasingly has his political future tied up in the state and pictures on Instagram suggest the PM gave a little private address on the side of festivities for the upper Telethon tier.

For the charity auction, Albo offered up a private dinner for 10 with himself and Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago. There was also an exclusive get-together with the new WA premier up for sale. Charitable giving being used as a veneer by mining billionaires to buy private dinners with top public officials should raise some alarm bells. But hey, this is the Big State baby!

The night was once again hosted by Basil Zempilas, the loudmouth commentator whose political ambitions show no sign of finding a ceiling. Only hours earlier, Zempilas was re-elected to a new four-year term as Perth lord mayor.

It’s all a bit Peak Perth that someone like Zempilas is serving as mayor, while he was paid as an employee of Stokes’ Seven West Media for some time.

On Saturday night, Zempilas went unplugged, making light of Sandy Anghie, the architect who he bested at the local polls. Multiple attendees said the Lord Mayor also repeatedly referred to Kerry as “the boss” and “my boss”.

Can you imagine what would happen if Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp hosted a closed-door charity event and referred to someone like Lindsay Fox as her “boss”?

This type of thing only flies in WA. The mining and property barons have gone full oligarch-mode, carving up the state’s riches in the face of weak government power. Now, they’re gleefully getting their own into public office.