Road safety lobbyist Harold Scruby’s links to Elvis and The Grateful Dead
The Sauce: He’s the face of road safety but there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Harold Scruby, with the Pedestrian Council of Australia boss boasting two links to rock royalty.
NSW
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He has been a tireless campaigner for improvements to road safety for “the walking class” for two decades, and now The Sauce can reveal Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby is related to one of the most famous singers of all time — Elvis Presley.
The Presley connection comes via Scruby’s uncle, the late Morten Smith-Petersen, whose grandson Ben is married to Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough.
Keough wed Ben, a stuntman known for his work on Mad Max: Fury Road, in 2015 after the pair met on set.
Scruby’s late aunt Irene was also in a relationship with a musician — the late Robert Hunter of legendary US rock band The Grateful Dead.
The couple have a son Christopher, who lives in Oslo.
Not pedestrian at all.
CHAIR APPARENT
The Sauce hears that when Barrie Cassidy, the long-serving host of the ABC’s Sunday morning politics show Insiders, left the ABC he was gifted his hosting chair, where he grilled senior pollies every Sunday morning for 18 years.
The chair was dumped when Barrie pulled the pin, with a new set and lounge installed for new host David Speers.
OLD BOYS
NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro has a new deputy chief-of-staff after poaching Jeff McCormack from the office of Water Minister Melinda Pavey.
The move follows Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean claiming Barilaro’s former chief-of-staff Mark Connell. Filling Connell’s old role is Siobhan McCarthy, former staffer for Nats federal leader Michael McCormack.
Insiders say Pavey is keen to take Barra’s job should he head to Canberra.
However, Nationals sources say Barra has anointed Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall as his successor.
Not that McCormack would be bothered by the politics of his bosses.
Prior to working for Pavey he worked for former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, with whom Barilaro crossed swords several times last year.
As for who approached who for the new gig, McCormack said it was “50-50”.
“We are members of the same old boys’ club,” he said. “We both went to St Edmund’s Canberra. I even had some of his teachers.”
PARTY PEOPLE
Lolly bags, a photo booth and a “buzz reel” — who said public servants don’t know how to party?
The budget for Service NSW is being slashed from $256 million last year to $146 million next year, but that didn’t lead to departmental scrimping when hosting its staff awards ceremony recently.
According to spies at the recent Service NSW Awards Ceremony in Parliament House, more than 300 people attended the $63,000 event, including “VIPs” Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello and Liberal MP Catherine Cusack.
Expense documents slipped to The Sauce show the event included a photo booth, hired for $1007.33, a buzz reel video ($3487) and trophies for award winners ($1510), along with $44,320 for room hire and catering, $618 on flowers, $590 on lolly bags and $6230 on AV equipment.
DEVELOPER DILEMMA
Panic has erupted among Liberal council candidates amid concerns the party may not endorse them.
The party goes into campaign mode for the local government elections on February 26, despite still having to sort out if it will endorse developers as candidates.
As revealed in The Sauce earlier this month, the party is embroiled in a factional brawl over moves by the moderates and Right to block developers running for council.
The move was opposed by Centre Right powerbroker Alex Hawke, who believes the party should obtain legal advice, resulting in the moderates looking to implement a ban via legislation.
The party last week held a fax ballot asking the executive to vote on whether to open nominations for 20 “non-controversial” councils.
A party source said the list has triggered panic among candidates whose councils are not on it.
However, another party source said the list was not definitive, with nominations set to be opened on “at least” another 15 councils.
“But it is fair to say people are worried they will not be endorsed,” the source said.
The ballot concludes tomorrow.
SHOT IN THE ARM FOR VACCINE GIANT
Vaccine and blood giant CSL briefly overtook Commonwealth Bank as the largest stock on the local sharemarket last week.
And The Sauce hears Australia’s biggest health company has snagged its own media powerhouse, pinching former Bill Shorten staffer Jo Cleary after the election.
Cleary worked in the leader’s office in the lead-up to polling day, after working for opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King.
As the world prepares for a potential coronavirus pandemic, The Sauce reckons Cleary’s stint in Shorten’s office will have prepared her for crisis management.
Got some Sauce? Contact linda.silmalis@news.com.au, miranda.wood@news.com.au, or annika.smethurst@news.com.au