Lisa Wilkinson’s life lessons: Inside Channel 10 presenter’s Moreton speech

Lisa Wilkinson encouraged 350 of her biggest fans to “make mistakes” and choose their friends wisely during a two-hour keynote speech behind closed doors at a pub.

Guests paid $140 each to attend an exclusive business lunch last Friday with the former Project host at Eatons Hill Hotel, north Brisbane – where they were treated to a two-course meal and flowing champagne.

The Channel 10 presenter was the star attraction, donning a suffragette white suit as she covered a range of personal, social and political issues – from homelessness to how she became editor of Dolly magazine with no qualifications at the age of 21.

Her talk took a turn when she started talking about how kicking people close to you can be a sign of personal growth.

Lisa Wilkinson is pictured at a luncheon for International Women’s Day in Brisbane’s northern suburbs

Guests were treated to a two-course lunch with flowing champagne. Lisa Wilkinson was the keynote speaker

“Choose your people wisely and it’s OK to edit the people you have in your life,” she told the crowd, according to the local newspaper, the Moreton daily.

“It’s a real sign of maturity when you think, ‘I don’t quite think this person is on my team.'”

Wilkinson also urged the group not to shy away from mistakes.

“Make mistakes – please, please, make mistakes, because when you make mistakes, you often grow,” she said.

Her comments come just months after she left out of the spotlight after a tumultuous 2022 that saw her flipping her Logies acceptance speech for her interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project.

She was subsequently banned from reporting on the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann, Ms Higgins’s alleged attacker, in ACT’s Supreme Court last year, eventually resigning as the programme’s presenter.

Wilkinson is now being sued for libel by Mr. Lehrmann over the interview with The Project. He has always vehemently denied sexually assaulting Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

His alleged rape trial was dropped and the case against him was eventually dropped altogether by ACT prosecutors.

Pictured: Brittany Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson at a Marie Claire event for International Women’s Day last year

Bruce Lehrmann (pictured out of court last year) is suing Lisa Wilkinson for libel

However, the impending defamation lawsuit seemed far from the minds of fans who attended Wilkinson’s luncheon on Friday.

Aside from social advice, the veteran journalist spoke about her past struggle to get the same pay as Today presenter Karl Stefanovic, and argued that there are gender imbalances in pension.

Wilkinson also said she gets no greater satisfaction than seeing young talent achieve great things in the workplace.

“What has given me the most satisfaction is the chance to work with and encourage new young talent,” she told the group.

“For me there is no greater thrill as a boss than identifying young talent, teaching them the ropes and then watching them fly.”

Guests were charmed by her speech.

Lisa Wilkinson wore a black button-up dress paired with white sneakers after lunch at the airport

“Nice to dress up for an IWD (International Women’s Day) lunch today and hear Lisa Wilkinson tell part of her story,” one woman captioned a photo of Wilkinson addressing the audience.

“Always so uplifting to be with other women who are changing the world.

Another said, “What better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than in a room full of amazing women, listening to the amazing and inspiring Lisa Wilkinson share some gems of wisdom and anecdotes about her life and career.”

There was a networking meeting right after lunch, but Wilkinson didn’t stay to the end.

She quickly put on a black smock and hurried to Brisbane Airport to catch a flight back to Sydney.

She was seen rolling her suitcase through the terminal with her boarding pass in hand as she chatted on her phone with a serious expression on her face.

Wilkinson is said to have walked past copies of her 2021 memoir, It wasn’t meant to be that way – which were on sale at the airport newsagent for a 30 percent discount.