By James Atkinson
Shadow Treasurer and Federal Member for North Sydney Joe Hockey was the special guest at the latest instalment of 'Politics in the Pub' at Redcape-owned venue, The Willoughby Hotel on Sydney's north shore.
Introduced by AHA NSW CEO Paul Nicolaou, Hockey was on hand to present his party's policies in the lead up to the September election, before engaging in a Q&A with the audience.
The May 24 event was the fourth instalment of Politics in the Pub, which aims to provide the local community with access to a free open forum with local councillors and members of parliament.
Previous guests have included Willoughby Mayor, Pat Reilly and Willoughby City Councilor Angelo Rozos, with Joe Hockey being the most prolific guest to date.
L-R Willoughby publican John McGurk, Joe Hockey and Paul Nicolaou
Willoughby Hotel publican John McGurk said: "The pub is the perfect setting to get politics to the people; what's more Australian than opening political dialogue over a couple of beers?"
Hockey was greeted by an audience of 150 guests who enjoyed lunch and drinks provided by the Willoughby Hotel. The guests were eager to pose a range of questions to the Shadow Treasurer; addressing issues both relevant to his local electorate seat of North Sydney and more national concerns.
Paul Nicolaou said: "Politics in the Pub is a great initiative created by Redcape Hotel Group and endorsed by the AHA NSW in which publicans, like John McGurk of the Willoughby Hotel, can showcase the professionalism, unity and social awareness of the industry."