ScoMo recruit Fiona Martin ruffles conservatives with pill-testing and abortion posts

She may have been PM Scott Morrison’s pick, but not everyone is happy with celebrity child psychologist Fiona Martin being installed in the must-win Sydney seat of Reid, The Sauce reveals.

• Barnaby upset about lack of airtime during election
• Election 2019: Noisy chickens and sausage sangers

She may have been Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s pick, but not everyone is happy with celebrity child psychologist Fiona Martin being installed in the must-win Sydney seat of Reid.

Martin faced strong opposition among the conservatives on Thursday night during a party vote to waive the required six month financial membership needed to be a candidate.

Chief among the concerns of the four voting against the waiver were Martin’s Facebook posts in favour of pill testing, legalising abortion, and cheering on Donald Trump’s fiercest political rivals Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren.

Child psychologist Fiona Martin is running for the seat of Reid.

“She’s not even a moderate, she’s completely off the reservation,” a senior Liberal source told The Sauce correspondent Jack Morphet last week.

The high-profile candidate was Mr Morrison’s third choice, after he was rejected by former NSW deputy police commissioner Nick Kaldas and former ABC presenter Stan Grant.

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Dr Martin received 14 votes in her favour with Malcolm Turnbull’s brother-in-law and NSW Liberal Party treasurer Michael Hughes, former NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith, head of Catholic Schools NSW Dallas McInerney and Pat Doherty voting against the waiver request.

The fury within the Right faction extends to former federal workplace minister Craig Laundy for not resigning sooner to leave more time to find a replacement.

“Craig kept us in the dark about his intentions to resign and left no runway to prepare for an orderly succession,” the source said. Dr Martin was endorsed yesterday as the candidate for Reid — a seat the party holds with 4.7 per cent margin.

BUNCH OF MUGS

The Liberal Party is attempting to top up its dwindling election coffers by selling Budget-themed mugs.

Thousands on Liberal Party members have received emails advertising the $35 “back in black” mug to commemorate the first Budget surplus in more than a decade.

“Why not mark this milestone for Australia’s economy with a Liberal Back in Black mug,” the email from the party’s headquarters said.

It is understood the Coalition has significantly less money than Labor to fight the election and will be forced to splash the cash in formerly safe seats such as Flinders and Warringah.

Last week it emerged the Government’s “back in black” campaign was copied from New Zealand where former Prime Minister John Key used the same strategy almost five years ago.

MODERN LIB

Liberal candidate for Wentworth Dave Sharma has ditched the Liberal logo from his campaign corflutes and website.

Dave Sharma is no longer using the Liberal logo in his campaign corflutes.

The former Australian ambassador to Israel has changed tack ahead of his second tilt at the blue riband seat in six months, after he lost to Dr Kerryn Phelps in October’s by-election.

Sharma has fashioned his own logo that reads “Dave Sharma; Modern Liberal”, which he has had emblazoned on a lighter shade of blue than the traditional party colour palette.

Sauce correspondent Jack Morphet spied the corflutes taking pride of place in the windows of Sharma’s downtown Double Bay campaign headquarters on New South Head Rd, ready for posting on power poles and trees across Sydney’s leafy eastern suburbs. Denying the rebrand was designed to distance himself from the party, Sharma said it was done to paint Labor as Luddites.

“I am seeking to represent Wentworth, which is a well-educated and sophisticated electorate engaged with national issues and it’s important they know I am focused on the challenges of the future,” he said.

“We’re up against a backwards looking Labor Party with no reformist agenda, going back to the days before Hawke and Keating.”

LUXURY BISCUITS

It can be hard to get information out of the Senate’s powerful privileges committee. The Sauce understands that any committee members caught leaking sensitive information could be found in contempt of parliament.

Senator Eric Abetz is reportedly provided with luxury biscuit. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

But some juicy goss has emerged regarding the committee’s deliberations. According to one source, Tassie Senator Eric Abetz is provided with his own luxury biscuits, raising the ire of his committee colleagues who are forced to consume the bland bickies.

If this leak is deemed serious enough it could be a breach, meaning the committee would have to investigate its own leak.

GROUP HUG

With Revenue NSW moving into Treasury, staff are understandably concerned about the fate of their jobs.

But there is no point looking to their superiors for answers with a staff email suggesting even the department bosses remain in the dark. Signed “Steve and Mark”, Collections NSW executive director and chief recovery officer Mark White and chief commissioner of State Revenue Stephen Brady revealed the pair were also yet to figure out the implications of the merger.

And in a somewhat bizarre plea, White and Brady urged staff to be nice to each other as they sought to figure out what was going on.

“Yesterday we confirmed that Revenue NSW will become a part of the Treasury cluster,” it said.

“We do not yet know exactly what this entails.

“Please be considerate of yourselves and each other as we seek more information on the situation.”

It’s nice to know even though in the State’s fines department care.

BABY BISHOP

Budget week may have belonged to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg but the Sauce reckons his daughter Gemma stole the show.

The confident four-year-old was the best dressed guest in Canberra on Budget night, donning a sequin-covered dress and matching metallic shoes.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with his wife Amie and daughter Gemma, who donned a sequin-covered dress on Budget night. Picture: Gary Ramage

But it’s a good thing Gemma’s dad knows how to balance the books because his daughter can pick a costly frock.

Sauce understands Gemma took a liking to Julie Bishop’s $1300 blue hand-sequined Rachel Gilbert dress when the pair met. Better start saving, Josh.

BURNING PROBLEM

It’s not just pubs having issues with new high-rise dwellers. The nation’s leading research agency is in talks with the State government over a new location for its large-scale fire testing facility.

The 230 or so staff in the CSIRO unit, who basically burns things on behalf of clients to see if they meet various fire standards, had been operating out of 30 buildings in Ryde.

However, in a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into the consolidation of its ageing buildings, the CSIRO revealed not all neighbours have been happy.

“Large-scale fire testing at North Ryde is becoming problematic due to the recent completion of several nearby high rise apartment buildings,” it said.

With more units to be completed this year, community opposition was expected to increase, it said.

The CSIRO revealed it was working with the NSW government on relocating the facility to a site in western Sydney.

SPINNING AROUND

With the Berejiklian Cabinet having undergone a reshuffle, ministerial staff are also having their own shake-up.

Among those promoted include former News Corp journalist Leigh Van Den Broeke, who leaves his media adviser role for the position of deputy chief-of-staff to newly minted Police Minister David Elliott.

He will report to chief-of-staff Tanya Raffoul, who fills the role vacated by new mum Katherine Danks.

With former environment minister Gabrielle Upton relegated to the backbench, media Adviser Alan Gale has chosen to moved on while new Corrections Minister Anthony Roberts has also lost one of his loyal lieutenants in Norm Lipson, who has chosen to retire.

Following Gladys Berejiklian’s cabinet reshuffle, there has also been a reshuffle of ministerial staff. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett

Robbo’s other adviser John Macgowan, who headed up the party’s election dirt unit, is also on the move and is understood to be transferring his skills in unearthing political skeletons for the federal Liberal team.

Neil Harley, a former chief of staff to retiring Federal MP Craig Laundy, has been appointed the Premier’s deputy chief-of-staff and director of strategy, a position vacated by Brad Burden who left the office after the State election.

Laundy sang Harley’s praises in his valedictory speech on Thursday, declaring: “I thank Neil Harley, who spent a year as my campaign director and then four years as my chief of staff, and then got poached by Gladys Berejiklian to run her campaign two years ago. I would have argued, pre two Saturdays ago, that I always thought that he has one of the sharpest political minds that I will ever met, and I think the result Saturday week ago would pay testament to that.”

Also out the door is the Premier’s director of policy Matt Crocker and media adviser Miles Godfrey.

Other departures include Roads Minister Melinda Pavey’s chief-of-staff Edward Martin. The Sauce has been told the hunt is on for new staff. Stay tuned.

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