Is Bec Judd considering a tilt at politics?
The AFL WAG and Melbourne businesswoman raised eyebrows when she was spotted breaking bread with coterie of Australia’s conservative powerbrokers on Thursday evening.
Sky News commentator Rita Panahi shared a series of photos featuring Judd, 41, and Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who became a national figure when she crusaded against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament last year.
They were joined in happy snaps by PR guru James Radford – the former long-time PR flak to West Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart – and Melbourne richlister Kathy Garnaut.
‘Thank you for being my dinner buddies,’ Judd said in an Instagram post.
The famous faces were among 375 people who came together for a function hosted by the right-wing lobby group, the Institute of Public Affairs, which campaigns for conservative economic and political principles.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and one-time Donald Trump aide Mick Mulvaney were likewise in attendance.
AFL WAG Bec Judd (right) was spotted breaking bread with conservative Sky News commentator Rita Panahi and former Gina Rinehart PR flak James Radford last night
Also in attendance at the dinner was Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Price – who made an impression on on the national stage last year by campaigning against the Indigenous Voice
She publicly clashed with Mr Andrews over the crime rate near her home suburb in the city’s Bayside area in May 2022, claiming the state government didn’t ‘seem to care’.
‘So sick of the rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of gangs in Bayside,’ she fumed. ‘We feel unsafe’.
Mr Andrews slapped down Judd’s attack, saying he wasn’t ‘interested in having an argument’ with her. He then did just that, claiming independent crime statistics refuted her ‘sweeping assessments about patterns of crime.’
Judd has continued to speak out about crime and justice issues this year, describing Melbourne as ‘woke, broke and violent’.
Judd with Panahi and Melbourne richlister Kathy Garnaut
Judd with former footy star Chris Judd at the Brownlow awards last month
She recently hammered Mr Andrews’ successor, Jacinta Allan, for ‘staying quiet while we wonder if a gang of machete wielding youths are going to invade our homes while our children sleep’.
Victoria Police pushed back on Judd’s assertions, claiming Bayside was one of Melbourne’s safest places to live, pointing to statistics that showed it had the third lowest level of criminal offending in the city.
Judd has worked in the fashion business and as a model and TV presenter. She has four children with her husband, former West Coast Eagles and Carlton captain Chris Judd.
Daily Mail Australia sought comment from Judd and the IPA.
