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The Great Hall of Parliament House was abuzz with activity on June 22, as politicians, members of the media and corporate chiefs attended the Mid Winter Ball, the annual highlight of Canberra’s social calendar.

eBay is a proud sponsor of the Ball and hosted the charity auction, which was the highlight of the evening. eBay auctioned off the opportunity for members of the public to have face-to-face interaction with political figures and raised more than AU$75,000.

Auction highlights included:

• Dinner for six with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, at The Lodge or her Sydney residence Kirribilli House for AU $31100
• A patchwork campaign blanket handicraft by the PM Julia Gillard and her staff for AU$680
• A tennis lesson for one with Davis Cup Champion & Liberal MP John Alexander, hosted by Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, followed by lunch for six people- $13601
• Two tickets to the Brisbane Broncos v Gold Coast Titans rugby league match at Suncorp Stadium on Friday July 15, 2011 with Treasurer, Wayne Swan -$3000
• Breakfast for four followed by a walk with leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, along his proposed Democracy Walk in Canberra - $3150
• Lunch or dinner for six with the three independents - Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott & Bob Katter - in one of Parliament\'s fine dining rooms during a Federal Parliamentary sitting week-$12100
• Qantas return business class tickets to London, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires or New York-$12100

During the Ball, eBay and PayPal Government Relations Heads Melanie Brocklehurst and Katherine Store also took the opportunity to share with a number of MPs on a range of issues that our buyers and sellers have highlighted are of concern and which are key barriers or enablers to eCommerce.

eBay will continue to work on behalf of our users and online consumers to ensure Australia fully embraces the digital economy.

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