When Visy cardboard king Anthony Pratt throws a party, it is guaranteed to be a night to remember.
And when the special guest performer is homegrown pop megastar Kylie Minogue, well, safe to say that was the hottest and rarest invite in town on Saturday night.
Business and political elite were “spinning around” at Raheen, Pratt’s stately compound in Kew in Melbourne’s inner east, for the annual Visy event. Guests included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who batted away criticism when he attended the lavish Pratt party in 2024 during a cost-of-living crisis, along with his wife Jodie Haydon, and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
No word yet if the PM and premier were in the Minogue mosh pit, or had a little boogie, as the pop princess rolled out a 60-minute set that was wall-to-wall with smash hits and nostalgic classics including Spinning Around, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Slow, All The Lovers, Better The Devil You Know, Locomotion, Especially For You, On a Night Like This, Padam Padam, and Love at First Sight.
Widely published rumours suggested Minogue’s performance cost well into eight figures, but estimates put the figure around $3 million.
A huge purpose-built marquee in the Raheen backyard was the setting for a sit-down dinner for around 250 guests, along with Minogue’s performance.
Among those attending were chair of the Herald & Weekly Times and Tourism Australia, Penny Fowler, Victorian deputy premier Ben Carroll and his wife Fiona, Lion chair Sir Rod Eddington, Endeavour Group chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, and Victorian police minister Anthony Carbines. Media figures, including staff from this masthead, also managed to work their way onto the guest list.
The Pratt family was out in force, including Heloise Pratt and her partner Jon Stevens, Fiona and Raphael Geminder, Matthew and Georgia Danos, Bella and Jose Falk, and Sammy Geminder.
The evening was Visy’s annual celebration of Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industries. Previous international performers at the event have included Keith Urban, Air Supply, Mark Ronson and Katy Perry.
Today host and fledgling podcaster Karl Stefanovic, who briefly took to the DJ decks following Minogue’s performance, was master of ceremonies.
Dapper in a blue suit, with a tie with his name printed on it, Pratt showed he loved a good tune by duetting early in the evening with Stefanovic on an impromptu rendition of The Beatles’ classic, Oh! Darling.
Guests were also shown a video which included clips of a younger Pratt singing with music greats Paul Anka and Burt Bacharach – and holding his own with both stars.
Security was tight as a small but noisy group of protesters assembled outside the gates of the Kew mansion, chanting and heckling as guests arrived around 5pm. They were still in place as guests started to leave at 10pm.
Meanwhile, a sprinkling of Minogue superfans were also outside the grounds, gathering in a side street to listen to her show over the fence and have an impromptu after-dark dance party.
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