450 VIPs party at Hockey send-off
JOE Hockey has ended a quarter century in politics and diplomacy with a starstudded farewell shindig in Washington for 450 of his closest friends.
The outgoing Ambassador’s sometime golfing partner President Donald Trump was a no-show to the farewell but he sent along his acting chief of staff and Treasury Secretary.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and golfer Greg Norman gave speeches lauding Hockey, and businessman Anthony Pratt helped pay for the party at Washington’s trendy Union Market.
Mr Norman presented former Australian PM Tony Abbott with a cheque for $648,159 for a bushfire relief fund – money raised by the American Australian Association.
Mr Hockey said Mr Abbott had been spending three days a week since September fighting fires as a volunteer.
“What a great Australian story,” he said, paying tribute to his former boss.
In lieu of appearing in person at the party, Mr Trump invited Mr Hockey and his family – wife Melissa Babbage and three children, aged 14, 13 and 10 – into the White House for selfies and a 15minute chat.
It was the day Mr Trump’s impeachment moved to the US Senate but Mr Hockey says he was more interested in Australia’s bushfires.
“He’s just getting on with business,” Mr Hockey said.
“He asked me all about the bushfires. He wanted to know was it climate change and are any animals extinct as a result of the fires … We talked about the parallel with California about the build-up [of fuel] on the ground and the intensity of the fires. He offered us everything that we needed or wanted.”
Americans “really like us”, Mr Hockey said. “They have a heartfelt love for Australia. They see us as kindred spirits in many ways with shared values. They’re very kind and generous.”