Food faux pas hit both sides of politics - and it ain’t pretty

You’d think Bill Shorten would be once bitten twice shy when it comes to eating sausages in public. Not so it seems. But the Opposition Leader is not alone when it comes to food faux pas with Deputy PM Michael McCormack devouring a lemon.

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WHEN it comes to awkwardly eating snags on a roll, Bill Shorten is a repeat offender.

Two years after he was snapped taking a bite from the middle of a sausage sandwich (yes, you read right), the federal Opposition Leader yesterday proved he hasn’t yet mastered the technique. After voting in the Victorian state election at a Melbourne primary school, Shorten tucked into a sausage sizzle — and it wasn’t pretty. Even local Labor candidate Danny Pearson looked amused. Maybe he should stick to the other well-worn pollie picture during next year’s federal election campaign — kissing babies.

Bill Shorten about to chomp into a sausage sandwich yesterday. Picture: Alex Coppel.

A bemused Danny Pearson looks on after voting at Moonee Ponds West Primary School in Melbourne, Saturday, November 24, 2018. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) NO ARCHIVING

SUCK ON THIS

It wasn’t only Bill Shorten committing a food faux pas, with Nationals Leader Michael McCormack devouring a lemon wedge during a cancer fundraising challenge. While the Lemon Face Challenge calls on participants to suck on the sour fruit, McCormack went all in eating it all - much to the shock of onlookers.

Nationals Leader and Deputy PM Michael McCormack does the Lemon Face Challenge

POLL FAIL

With two elections looming, most NSW residents will already be used to receiving robo-calls about their voting preferences. But when the voters of Monaro received a call last week asking what they thought of “Craig Elliot”, many were understandably confused. Elliot, as those in the north of the State would know, is not only the husband of Richmond MP Justine Elliot but also the Labor candidate for Tweed. So why were residents in the electorate of Nationals leader John Barilaro being asked who they would vote for “if Craig Elliot was not a candidate?” We can only assume it was a “poll fail”. Oops.

MISSING TEA

Former Liberal minister Bronwyn Bishop clearly loves her tea. So much so the Bilgola resident had three supermarket staffers fussing over her at the Coles Newport store on Monday night, where she was seen pointing at the spot where her preferred brand once stood. “It is my favourite tea and it was right here,” a passing shopper heard her say. A frazzled staffer replied something about stocking decisions being a matter for “head office”. Hopefully stocking up on tea supplies was not the only reason Ms Bishop had travelled down to the store.

Bronwyn Bishop had three Coles staff searching for her favourite tea. Picture: Joel Carrett

BARRY’S BONUS

He resigned from the Environment Protection Authority last Christmas after referring the department to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) following allegations of corruption within the waste industry. But Barry Buffier has clearly landed on his feet. After taking up a job at waste management Bingo Industries, the man former Labor leader Luke Foley once described as “the most powerful public servant in NSW” is doing very well, according to his new employer’s annual report.

  Under one of the carried resolutions of the board, the report noted the decision to increase the maximum remuneration that can be paid to a non-executive director of the company to be “increased by $500,000 from $1 million per annum to $1.5 million per annum”. With Bingo having just five non-executive directors, that’s not bad dosh.

LOUNGING AROUND

Union boss Sally McManus may represent the average worker but she apparently prefers not to mix with them. The ACTU secretary was spotted in the newly-upgraded Qantas business lounge in Melbourne this week before jetting off to Brisbane. It might not have been Australia’s most exclusive airline club, the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, but the union boss was certainly keen to avoid the airport riffraff. She might be union
bred and led, but she’s business lounge-fed.

GLADYS ATTACK DOGS

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance. Picture John Grainger

He’s not one to back down from confrontation and now Andrew Constance’s skills are being put to good use. In the fortnight since Michael Daley was appointed opposition leader, the NSW Transport Minister has been wheeled out as the government’s attack dog. The Sauce understands the electorate can also expect to see more of his colleague Melinda Pavey. The Roads Minister has also been given the tap from the Premier’s office to take on Daley’s record when he was responsible for the state’s roads. No doubt both Pavey and Constance will relish their daily Daley stoush.

BACK IN THE NEWS

The career of former NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher has been resurrected, four years after he was named in an ICAC inquiry. Gallacher was awarded News Maker of the Year — for the right reasons — at the Shipping and Maritime Industry Awards in Sydney on Thursday night. His win comes a year after he left state parliament to take up the role of chief executive of Ports Australia.

 It’s a long way from 2014 when Gallacher was forced to resign as police minister after the ICAC investigation into political donations. He was later cleared of serious corruption findings.

“I have always enjoyed working in positions where massive challenges have to be confronted. Sometimes it has been a real white knuckle ride,” Gallacher said after his win.

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