Crikey spent two hours perched near the top of the escalator at the Grollo-built 6-star Westin Hotel in Sydney spying on the $15,000 a table Labor Party fundraiser to celebrate its re-election. He reports Carr’s Rum Corp government was at its sleazy best.

Security at the hotel was lax so Crikey was able to head downstairs at 5.30pm and spend 10 minutes studying the guest list of about 400.

Bob Carr’s Rum Corp government was at its sleazy best with developers and gambling interests dominating the line-up.

Harry “slap em up” Trigabuffoon’s prolific inner city flats builder Meriton appeared to be the only company that took an entire VIP table.

But equally prominent was the controversial Moran retirement home empire with several of the Moran family that are still talking to each other turning up and even taking a sponsors booth at the front.

Other notable sponsors included Optus and Vodafone.

FREE BEER FROM FOSTER’S BUT LEAVE OUR POKIES ALONE

Political parties love their sin sponsors and this time it was Foster’s that provided the grog for free and erected large Crown Lager banners next to the guest lists.

Foster’s CEO in-waiting Trevor O’Hoy and chief spindoctor Graham Willisdorf arrived together, no doubt keen to preserve their burgeoning pokies empire in the most pokies-saturated city in the world outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Wonder if anyone mentioned the fact that they are pulling out of brewing beer in the NSW market when the Kent Brewery in Broadway closes in 2005.

COL JOYE AND WENDY HARMER – WHAT A TEAM

The entertainment was provided by 2Day FM’s Wendy Harmer, a long-time Labor luvvy who used to cuddle up to Victorian Premier Joan Kirner. Alternatively, Col Joye might have got up and sung a few solidarity songs but let’s hope no-one mentioned the Jacobsen Entertainment float put up by his brother as investors have really done their dough on this one.

Wendy will no doubt be wishing Eddie McGuire well at the Logies on Sunday night.

DID MISSION AUSTRALIA PAY FOR RICHARD GRELLMAN’S TICKET?

The most interesting guest from Crikey‘s point of view was besieged AMP audit committee chairman Richard Grellman. We’d love to know who paid for Richard’s $1500 meal because we didn’t spot him arriving and he was on the guest list representing Mission Australia. Does one of Australia’s largest charities really want to be splashing its cash around like this? Maybe AMP paid for the seat but Richard just didn’t want that on his name tag.

SPINDOCTORS APLENTY

There were plenty of spindoctors cuddling up to the bruvvas, led by obvious players such as Carr’s former senior staffer Bruce Hawker. We spotted City PR’s Tim Allerton, Burson-Marstellar chairman Ian Kortlang, former senator turned Jackson Wells Morris spinner Kerry Sibraa, John Connolly and Partners’ Gabby Traynor, CPR’s Cameron O’Reilly (a former Laurie Brereton staffer) and even John Fairfax’s famous former congressional aide, Bruce C Wolpe, fresh from another opinion piece, this time in the latest issue of Australian Jewish News.

Crikey objects to Fairfax giving money to any political party and thinks it completely inappropriate that Wolpe attends these dinners. No doubt he’ll just claim this is more Crikey junk.

ANDREW WEST THE ONLY HACK HAVING A GO

It is disappointing that political journalists across the country never seem to bother to stake out these grubby fundraisers as they provide great insights into who needs favours from the government.

Afterall, there were all sorts of big names there last night including Labor heavyweights such as Bob Hawke and Neville Wran along with the entire NSW Cabinet.

The only hack having a go last night was Sun-Herald journalist Andrew West who sauntered in uninvited and gathered a yarn which might appear next Sunday or in his upcoming unauthorised biography of Bob Carr.

There is one theory that Carr has just released his diaries to negate Westy’s book but as an 11-year veteran of the ALP, Westy has plenty of good sources to keep the insights coming no matter how much Bob Carr refuses to co-operate.

WHO PAID FOR THE TICKETS?

With Labor pulling what we believe is the most expensive large-scale fundraiser in Australian political history, it is interesting to contemplate who paid for the tickets.

For instance, former ACP CEO and Ozemail co-founder Trevor Kennedy is worth an estimated $60 million. He wears plenty of hats but he was down at this fundraiser representing Oilsearch, the PNG-based oil company which has sod-all to do with the NSW Government.

If Oilsearch has forked out for this then shareholders have every right to be annoyed because Trev is rich enough to afford this sort of dinner of his own bat and there was absolutely nothing in it for Oilsearch.

Similarly, Tony Shepherd was also there and we wonder if was wearing a Transfield, ERG or NSW Transit Authority hat. How he can be director of ERG and the State Transit Authority is beyond Crikey’s comprehension when you consider that ERG have just won the contract to provide all the public transport ticketing in NSW.

LIBERALS AMONGST THE BRUVVAS

Politics is a pragmatic game, especially with this Rum Corp government in NSW so it came as no surprise to spot a few blue-blood Liberals handing cash to the Bruvvas.

First and foremost was John Howard’s great mate and former departmental head Max Moore-Wilton who now runs Sydney Airport and has numerous issues with the NSW government (aircraft noise to start with) such that it was no surprise to see him there.

The sports minister in the first Howard Government Warwick Smith also turned up in his role as head of corporate affairs for the Millionaire Factory Macquarie Bank.

Ian Kortlang is another prominent former Liberal staffer mixing it with the ALP.

And who would have thought that Jeff Kennett’s education minister Don Hayward would still be turning up to such functions wearing his hat as an Abigroup director where he sits alongside Nifty Neville Wran, another rich Labor Bruvva who is worth about $50 million.

MILLIONAIRE FACTORY SAYS THANKS FOR THE TOLLROADS

Given that the Macquarie Bank Millionaire Factory controls 4 of the 5 tollroads in Sydney and has made billions of dollars by out-foxing successive NSW Government is was no surprise to see chairman David Clarke in attendance.

Many would forget that Clarke is a former Treasurer of the Liberal Party before Ron Walker became the no-nonsense and far more effective bagman. Alan Jones’s great mate and Macquarie’s infrastructure guru Nick Moore was there along with other Macquarie tollroad heavies such as Michael Carapiet. It was surprising the Parrot wasn’t on Michael Costa’s table, then again he still hosts Liberal Party fundraisers these days in another classic conflict of interest which is tolerated in NSW.

DEVELOPERS APLENTY

Paul Keating would have hated last night’s function because he is man who believes developers should be banned from making donations to political parties. Developers are a corrupting influence and they were everywhere last night.

Australand’s CEO Brendan Crotty ensured the Singapore Government-controlled developer which bought Lang Walker’s listed company got a good hearing.

Multiplex founder John Roberts is in thick with the NSW Right and was once described by Richo as “my only mate with a quid”. He sent his son along to fly the flag last night.

Former Hawthorn premiership player and AFL commissioner Chris Langford was one of many flying the flag for Mirvac. Langers is believed to have taken the hit for Lend Lease’s troubles at Fox Studios but it wasn’t long before he was in there negotiating with himself when Mirvac bought Waverley Park for $110 million from the AFL two years back.

GAMBLING HERE, GAMBLING THERE, GAMBLING EVERYWHERE

There were dozens of other developers represented and some amazing looking burly blokes who turned up. Can anyone put a name to the bloke with that amazing set of dark glasses? Must have been an enforcer from the gambling industry.

The Registered Clubs and Hotels were naturally prominent along with plenty of players from individual hotels which enjoy the profits from the $3 billion-plus lost each year on NSW’s 100,000 machines.

There were stacks of framed photos and political memorabilia that was doubtless auctioned off but Crikey was very surprised to see a pin-ball machine amongst the gear for sale. Surely a historical poker machine would have been more appropriate.

OTHER INTERESTING NAMES: CARNELL, WHYTE, SHERMAN

We may as well just reel off the other names which caught our eye. Kate Carnell is obviously keen to keep tree-lopping in NSW as the former ACT Chief Minister who now lobbies for the forestry industry made the trip down from Canberra.

Kerry Packer’s best mate Robert Whyte was there although he has long given up on trying to develop White City and made a killing thanks to favourable planning decisions that trumped up the value of Eye Corp for those gullible lads at Ten to buy three years back.

And Equitilink twin Brian Sherman showed up late, obviously still thankful for those lucrative deals he had working out of Labor Council buildings managing public sector superannuation funds.

OTHER LABOR HEAVIES

Wannabe federal leader Wayne Swan made the trip down from Brisbane for the night and we also spotted former Labor Senator Stephen Loosely wearing his PWC hat. Loosely apparently charges like a wounded bull when it comes to counting out beans for himself but people like Frank Lowy swear that he’s worth every cent and a thoroughly deserving Labor millionaire.

Whilst former Victorian Labor Premiers such as John Cain go to book launches and former union bosses like John Halfpenny retire quietly in Tasmania, their equivalents in NSW are on the make in the corporate world and former NSW Labor Council Secretary Michael Easson is a prominent example of unionist turned millionaire in the NSW tradition.