Gayton McKenzie reveals details about a meeting with Geordin Hill-Lewis organised by billionaire Rob Hersov

Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie shared details about his first meeting with DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, organised by billionaire Rob Hersov.

He shared this information during an interview with Alec Hogg from BizNews about the coalition negotiations.

McKenzie has a good relationship with Hersov, but explained that the billionaire does not fund the Patriotic Alliance.

He said that Hersov offered them money, but he refused. This is because Hersov is a businessman and demands his pound of flesh associated with such funding.

However, he did ask for a favour. “I needed him to give someone a lift in a jet or something,” McKenzie said.

“Rob agreed, but he said that I owe him a favour in return, which he can call in at any time. I agreed that I would owe him.”

He said that Hersov called him a few months ago, saying that it was time for him to return the favour.

“He said he needed me to meet somebody at his house privately, and it was DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis,” McKenzie said.

He was not keen, but because he owed Hersov a favour, he went to his house to meet Hill-Lewis.

“We sat down, and I found him to be a jolly good fellow. That was the first time I really got to know the chap,” he said.

“In that meeting, we said that no matter what happens, no matter how hard we fight, after the election we’re going to have a one-on-one.”

“We also agreed that one-on-one, if it requires us to work together, we will work together. We shook hands on that.”

He said that the day for a one-on-one arrived on Thursday, 12 November 2026, and that they met as part of the coalition discussions.

“I had a great conversation with DA Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis over coffee whilst both our coalition negotiation teams started the process for future talks,” he said.

He added that Hill-Lewis has the potential to take the DA from strength to strength if he carves out his own independent path.