Berejiklian and Baird join Abbott at low-key hospice funding event
Liberal superstar Gladys Berejiklian lends a hand to the Federal Election campaign; the fight for Farrer gets nasty; and one minister’s Facebook blooper is seen by thousands.
It was supposed to be a low-key event with only local media invited.
But word Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her predecessor Mike Baird would be joining
under-siege Warringah MP Tony Abbott at a $5 million funding announcement for the Bear Cottage children’s hospice in Manly quickly spread.
With her personal approval rating “stratospheric” after her historic win in March, it is no surprise the party has increasingly called on the Premier to help with its federal campaign.
On Friday, the NSW Liberal Party headquarters sent out an email from the Premier to subscribers, calling for donations for the party’s re-election campaign.
In the email, Ms Berejiklian spoke of her victory while urging recipients to get behind her “friend” Scott Morrison.
“Last month, the people of NSW re-elected my government because we get the job done. Thank you,” she wrote.
MORE THE SAUCE
MARK LATHAM SPOTTED ‘DEEP IN CONVERSATION’ WITH NEW MP
BARNABY JOYCE WAS IN A BAD MOOD DURING ELECTION COVERAGE
HELLO! PETER DUTTON’S CAMPAIGN CLANGER
“Only a Liberal government will continue to build our economy and secure your future. That’s why I’m supporting the Prime Minister, my friend Scott Morrison.”
The email plea followed the Premier’s appearance at a campaign rally last month, along Mr Morrison and former prime minister John Howard.
The new funding announced yesterday will go towards the construction of a Big Bear Cottage hospice for terminally ill children who turn 18, so they do not have to enter an adult facility or aged care. Mr Baird is leading the project, which is expected to cost between $20-$30 million to establish.
Stay tuned for more appearances from Gladys.
FERAL FARRER
The fight for Farrer has gone feral, after a swastika was drawn on Liberal MP Sussan Ley’s corflute and her campaign office was trashed.
The Nazi symbol was spray-painted over Ley’s face on campaign corflutes nailed high in trees along roads in Griffith and Albury.
According to The Sauce correspondent Jack Morphet, the graffiti has rattled Ms Ley, who is locked in the grubbiest campaign since she took office in 2001.
“The swastika is the international symbol of hatred and I find it upsetting,” she said.
“It’s not upsetting because the swastika is on my face; it’s upsetting someone would be compelled to stop their car, take out a tin of spray paint and climb up a tree to graffiti the sign.
“In all the campaigns I’ve been involved in, state or federal, I have never seen a swastika.”
Ms Ley is also aware of rumours of a “compromising” picture of her being circulated, which she dismissed out of hand. “I’ve heard of personal and totally slanderous rumours circulated about me, which I don’t want to repeat,” she said.
“I’ve heard someone has a photograph of me in a compromising position, which is complete rubbish. I can 100 per cent guarantee it doesn’t exist.”
Last Saturday night, a rock was thrown through Ms Ley’s Albury campaign office, shattering the front window.
The betting markets have Sussan Ley as the outsider, paying $2.10 for a win. Albury Mayor, Kevin Mack, is paying $1.55.
STOP THE BOTS
It was only last year that Energy Minister Angus Taylor boldly declared his mission to “stop
the bots”. Alas, it appears the former cybersecurity minister has failed miserably.
Beneath a video of Taylor and Eden-Monaro candidate Fiona Kotvojs posted on his “blue tick” verified Facebook fan page, users were bemused to find a comment posted by the Angus Taylor page itself. “Great move. Well done Angus,” it said.
To ram home the fact the comment was by the page itself, it was preceded by: “Angus Taylor commenting on Angus Taylor’s post.”
Punters have seized on the post, with almost 700 users repeating the comment beneath the video and other content posted on the page.
It is understood the page was set up by the Liberal Party on behalf of Taylor, who has his own personal Facebook page.
“The bots have come for him, and come in numbers,” a Liberal source said.
A spokesman for Mr Taylor said the comment was a “simple mistake by Mr Taylor’s office”. “Mr Taylor, like many of us, can see the funny side,” he said.
GOVERNMENT ‘ORGANISM’
After the NSW Finance Department was pinged for spending $600,000 on self-help books, one would think the public service might show some restraint in how they spend taxpayer funds.
However, Labor last week unearthed yet another questionable spend, with Service NSW paying $136,950 on an “agile coach”.
Contractor Elabor8 described an agile coach as being one that freed people from “inflexible mindsets”. Agile coaches could be viewed as “scrum masters,” its website states.
As for businesses, they weren’t “solid immovable things”, rather “a living breathing organism.”
Needless to say, State opposition finance spokesman Ryan Park is having none of it. “Taxpayers just want Service NSW to get the job done and not waste taxpayers’ money,” he said.
A Service NSW spokesman said the agile coaching had enabled the Digital Product Office to deliver critical cost-of-living programs that had saved families time and money.
VEGAN VIOLENCE
As the head of the Countering Violent Extremism unit for Juvenile Justice NSW, Peta Lowe knows a thing about the risks posed by radical ideologies.
But in discussing how not all groups of “extremists” engage in violence during a speech to the Australasian Youth Justice conference last week, Ms Lowe said she could no longer use vegans as an example.
“They’ve now ruined that for me,” she lamented in reference to the activists’ recent clashes with farmers. “So I have to go back to cross-fitters.”
While cross-fitters had “incredibly radical beliefs”, they did not use violence to promote their cause. “Yet”, Ms Lowe said.
MUD MASK
The secret is out as to how ABC weeknight news presenter Juanita Phillips keeps her complexion looking so good — it’s mud.
Phillips revealed on Twitter how she had put on a mask only to forget to take it off before going grocery shopping.
“The older I get, the less I look in the mirror,” she explained. “This is a recipe for both happiness and social embarrassment.”
SILENT OUTRAGE
Former prime ministers, celebrities, judges and victims of crime are among the thousands of voters who elect each year to be on the “silent” electoral roll — that is, have their addresses withheld.
But in a major cock-up by the Australian Electoral Commission, silent voters opting to vote via pre-poll this year have had their addresses revealed on the prepaid envelopes containing their ballot papers.
“Basically, anyone wanting to see how John Howard voted could simply open up the envelope,” one silent voter said last week.
Upon contacting the AEC, the voter was informed that there had been a “printing mistake”. As for the solution, the AEC is advising the hordes of not-so-silent voters calling the helpline to either buy a blank envelope to insert the voting material or to stick a blank sticker on the address.
Got some Sauce? Contact:
linda.silmalis@news.com.au
miranda.wood@news.com.au or
annika.smethurst@ news.com.au
Kick out the cowards: DV attackers to be booted from their homes
A safety scheme enabling domestic violence victims to stay in their own homes by fortifying their properties — while forcing their attackers to find their own place to live — will be rolled out across NSW.
Sweeping reforms laid on the table in workers’ comp overhaul
Compensation payments for psychological injuries will cut off two and a half years earlier unless an injured worker can prove they will be significantly impaired for life, according to draft reforms released by the NSW government. Here’s how it could affect you.