Neil Perry threatens to leave Australia if Hanson becomes PM
Celebrity chef Neil Perry has threatened to leave Australia if Pauline Hanson becomes prime minister. It’s a declaration that has created an uncomfortable dynamic in the eastern Sydney suburb, where his two newest restaurants happen to sit directly below one of One Nation's most significant financial backers.
Since stepping away from his CBD-based Rockpool empire, Perry has re-established himself in Double Bay, opening Mediterranean restaurant Margaret on Bay Street during the Covid era, followed more recently by Italian venue Gran Torino a few doors along the same strip.
What makes Perry's political outburst particularly pointed is the geography. Directly above Gran Torino is the office of fund manager Angus Aitken, whose financial support for Hanson's One Nation party is understood to be second only to that of Gina Rinehart.
According to The Australian's Margin Call column, Aitken Mount Capital Partners and its clients have been regulars across both Perry venues. Aitken declined to comment when contacted about Perry's remarks and whether they might alter his firm's dining arrangements.
The broader customer base adds further complexity. With One Nation polling at close to 30 per cent nationally, Hanson sympathisers are unlikely to be confined to a single upstairs office on Bay Street. At the same time, Double Bay has drifted into teal territory in recent electoral cycles, meaning a meaningful share of Perry's clientele likely sits firmly in the independent-supporting, small-l liberal camp.
It is, to put it mildly, a difficult room to read and an increasingly difficult one to feed without consequence.
Jonathan Jackson, 16th June 2026
