Ahead of Jim Chalmers’ budget, the busiest place was a hotel bar

The halls of Parliament House were a bore on budget day, a major event on the political calendar that once drew the nation’s striving lobbyists and all manner of hangers-on to the corridors of power.

Turns out most of them were holding out for drinks at Ostani, the bar at the foot of Hotel Realm, where the Labor Business Forum was to play host to one of two fundraising events on budget night, after Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the budget on Tuesday evening.

Budget mainstay and Labor elder statesman Wayne Swan turned up to Hotel Realm early, around 6.30pm, only to retreat to the back of the hotel foyer and yammer on the phone. He was followed in by Annastacia Palaszczuk’s former deputy Jackie Trad.

On the other side of the wall were a crop of the capital’s most recognisable lobbyists and assorted corporates. Among them were former Liberal defence minister Christopher Pyne and former Labor MP turned lobbyist Joel Fitzgibbon. Lobbyist and Liberal Party powerbroker Michael Photios was rubbing elbows there too.

The corporate affairs types and government relations heads were out in force. Moe Elrifai, who runs the government relations operation at the ASX, was there mingling with Clare Gunning, a former deputy commissioner corporate at the Australian Tax Office, who along with Ben Taylor runs the lobby shop Radburn Partners. Also there was Amelia Metcalf, the former Paul Fletcher adviser who runs the lobby shop Bourke Street and counts TikTok and OpenAI among clients.

Former Liberal finance minister Simon Birmingham showed up to the drinks, one of few at the bar who was actually seen sauntering the halls of Parliament House hours earlier. Kai Cantwell, the chief executive of Responsible Wagering Australia, could also be seen doing the rounds.

But if our early rounds were any indicator, Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget address wasn’t really top of mind. After all much of this year’s federal budget had already been leaked to the press ahead of the budget speech tonight.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cracked jokes to that effect at a Press Gallery exhibition at the Museum Of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House on Monday evening, where he and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke each got up to say a few words in honour of Laurie Oakes and Michelle Grattan.

So when budget day finally arrived, the circus that usually hits town for it didn’t really show until later, and it was little surprise that the curio in Canberra quickly became what One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson had in store for the rest of budget week.

The One Nation boss, as it turned out, is plotting a surprise guest appearance. Word is that Hanson is preparing to wheel out David Farley, her man in Farrer, for his first appearance in the capital on Wednesday after snatching Sussan Ley’s old seat from the Liberals, and delivering One Nation its first lower house seat in the process.

Farley hasn’t technically assumed office yet. But why waste the momentum? We’re led to believe Hanson will ride the Farrer high in her own budget response (reply?) later in the week, too. No word yet though on whether she’s plotting a budget week knees-up.

Even without One Nation shouting drinks, Labor has enough planned to keep everyone busy. At the Hotel Realm, the Labor Business Forum is set to hold a budget dinner fundraiser. Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers are each set to address those who were prepared to stump up the $5000 cost of entry.

“The 2026 Federal Budget Dinner will commence with pre-dinner refreshments, followed by a live screening of the Budget speech and a seated dinner with members of the Federal Ministry,” reads the invite, seen by CBD.

That is the big one, described among the notably sparse, flesh-pressing lobbyist set on Tuesday as the “sit-down” do. There is also set to be a “stand-up” function to go ahead at the National Press Club for those unwilling to stump up thousands to hobnob with the Albanese ministry. Albo is scheduled to drop into that one too.

The question that follows is how Chalmers plans to divvy up his time after handing down the budget.

There are the two Labor events, of course, but also a swag of media dinners, including one at Ottoman, where journalists at The Australian are set to descend for post-budget nutrition, CBD hears, with plans for another media sit-down set to go ahead at Chairman & Yip, among a couple of others.

But no word on whether the treasurer will show at either. At least Chalmers won’t have to travel far to check in with his friends at the ABC, who we heard didn’t have any (formal) dinner plans.

Either way, we have no doubt the evening’s festivities will be more lively than what we witnessed traipsing the halls of Parliament House on Tuesday.

During multiple laps of the building, we clocked Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek giving what could well have been an hours-long tour to an as-yet unidentified visitor. We were just glad to see her wearing comfortable footwear (trainers of the chunky variety).

Communications Minister Anika Wells could be seen strolling through the courtyard, speaking in hushed tones with an adviser. (Hopefully not expense-related, for all of our sakes.) Then there was the parade of budget day content creation now customary for big dates on the political calendar.

Greens leader Larissa Waters could be seen speaking to her phone camera in the courtyard. So too Wentworth MP and tax-reform teal, Allegra Spender, who appeared to be getting in on the action with a little help from a staffer, after hoofing it through the press gallery before lunch.

Labor Senator Penny Wong could be seen walking the halls flanked by a camera-toting staffer in the afternoon as well. We didn’t see the camera rolling, but what is budget day for if not to line up a fire hose of content?

Before and after the press gallery went into lockdown to rake over the budget papers, Aussies cafe, one of the two parliamentary feeding troughs, was predictably commandeered by the capital’s orange lanyard-wearing hired guns and other assorted strivers.

At various points there was Eamonn Fitzpatrick, a former Sydney Morning Herald journalist and erstwhile media adviser to prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, now a lobbyist for Optus and others. Labor Senator Varun Ghosh was also there holding court later in the day, while former Liberal finance minister Simon Birmingham was also seen milling around the cafe, in the building in his new capacity as chief executive of the Australian Banking Association.

There were also the budget day mainstays. Among them was Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil, who led a contingent of labour movement types, along with the left-wing economist Richard Denniss, who could be seen pacing around the courtyard holding his laptop up to his face, no doubt figuring out how he plans to post his way through the evening.