Own goal: Labor’s Sam Crosby under fire for ScoMo defence
It was expected that Scott Morrison’s secret family holiday to Hawaii would be defended by members of his own party, so when a former Labor candidate took to Twitter to question its newsworthiness it left a few scratching their heads.
NSW
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Sam Crosby, the McKell Institute chief executive officer who ran for Labor as its candidate for Reid at the last federal election, sent Twitter into meltdown after defending the trip PM Scott Morrison’s Hawaiian holiday.
“I don’t understand why this is news and I don’t understand why people on #auspol are angry about it?” he tweeted. “
Why shouldn’t the bloke go on leave with his family around Christmas?”
Among those to question Crosby’s stance included veteran Labor damage controller Eamonn Fitzpatrick, who simply replied: “Dude”.
Former Lindsay MP Emma Husar tagged Crosby in her tweet, declaring: “Absolute state of emergency and the leader goes in to hiding.”
OOH, AAH MCGRATH
Premier Gladys Berejiklian will no doubt be hoping her former chief-of-staff turned John Holland corporate affairs general manager Larry McGrath will help deliver the new Sydney Football Stadium with a minimum of fuss.
Her government has copped a major backlash since it was revealed last week that the project cost had blown out by $99 million.
McGrath worked for Ms Berejiklian when she was the Minister for Transport, and later, the Treasurer. The Committee for Sydney board director’s profile said he helped bring to market and deliver major private public partnership projects such as the Northwest Rail Link and the Sydney Light Rail.
McGrath left the government for John Holland in March 2016. The company was this week awarded a $735 million contract to rebuild the stadium by 2022. Despite the blowout, Ms Berejiklian said the deal was the best outcome for taxpayers.
PRESIDENT KENEALLY
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally is among the names being put forward as a possible candidate to replace NSW Labor president Mark Lennon. Lennon, a former Unions NSW boss, is bowing out after what has been a shocker of a year for the party. Given Keneally (pictured below) turned down an approach by then Labor leader Bill Shorten to become US Ambassador — as revealed in The Sauce earlier this year — it seems unlikely the former NSW premier will leave her high-profile role for a job in the shadows.
The more likely scenario is the post will be filled by right-wing Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey, whom party sources say is interested. Should Morey take the job, this would auger well for any future leadership ambitions state opposition corrections spokesman Chris Minns may still harbour given the pair are said to be close. Other names doing the rounds include Greenway MP Michelle Rowland and state opposition mental health spokeswoman Tara Moriarty.
VAPE, VAPE AND AWAY
He was the corporate and regulatory affairs director at British American Tobacco (BAT) before taking on the role of director of strategy, and later, chief-of-staff, in the office of Nationals leader John Barilaro. Two years on, Mark Connell is leaving Macquarie Street for greener pastures. Staff say he will be missed, as will Connell’s vaping — a habit he took up after kicking the fags on leaving BAT.
Also on the move is Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott’s chief-of-staff Leigh Van Den Broeke who has taken a job at First State Super. Here in the newsroom we still remember him fondly as the nice-guy cub reporter who never gave up in his ultimately fruitless attempts to get his shorthand speed up to par. Glad to see it hasn’t held him back!
Got SOME SAUCE? Contact linda.silmalis@news.com.au, miranda.wood@news.com.au, or annika.smethurst@news.com.au