The Prime Minister will forgo a must-win game for the NSW Blues when he joins fellow MPs, journalists and the corporate elite for federal politics’ night of nights.

Every year, the parliamentary press gallery’s Midwinter Ball features politicians and company bosses from the country coming together to network, celebrate journalism and raise money for charity.

The prestigious Press Gallery Journalist of the Year award will also be handed to one deserving journalist at the event on Wednesday night.

“It is a night of glamour and irreverence, networking and entertainment, but the good fun is also for a good cause,” according to the ball’s website.

Last year’s event raised $350,000 for a series of charities, including $100,000 for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

Tweet from @AlboMP

Earlier, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lamented the ball falling on the same night as the crucial State of Origin fixture, saying he planned to watch the game on his phone under a table.

“They say sometimes that politicians are out of touch, and I understand why they sometimes say that, but the media…,” he told Sydney radio station Triple M.

“It could have been last week. It … could have been any time other than three (game) nights.”

Tweet from @PeterDutton_MP

Carrying on the tradition of making a political statement through an outfit, Labor senator Jana Stewart wore a dress printed with the Uluru Statement from the Heart, made by Aboriginal fashion brand Clothing the Gaps.

Green senator Sarah Hanson-Young last year attended the ball wearing a dress emblazoned with the words “end gas and coal”.

-AAP