The Sauce: Anthony Albanese looking ‘match fit’ after makeover

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has slimmed down, dressed up and is sporting new specs … The Sauce thinks there must be an election coming up.

New glasses, new suits and without the Covid kilos everyone else seems so to be carrying.

Unlike some of his frontbench, Labor leader Anthony Albanese is — as one of his inner circle described him — looking “match fit”.

While some of his predecessors enlisted a stylist to spruce up their image in the lead-up to federal election campaigns — Kevin Rudd used celebrity stylist Nadia Benussi — Albo
has always proudly declared to be the master of his own look.

However, The Sauce does know his “new look” follows his involvement with leading creative Dee Madigan, who has been working with the party on its advertising campaign material.

Before: Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in June 2020.

After: slimline Albo with new specs, last week.

Madigan, who is the director of marketing firm Campaign Edge, is a veteran of Labor campaigns at a state and federal level.

The high-profile commentator, who is also the author of The Hard Sell — which features her insights on political advertising — regularly appears on shows such as ABC’s Gruen and Seven’s Sunrise.

Ever respectful of her clients, Madigan declined to comment on how involved she was in Albo’s image overhaul, but a source from his inner circle said he was advised on appropriate
looks for television and ran with it.

As for the glasses, the new specs were chosen on the fly from a Marrickville optometrist from the relatively affordable Byblos Eyewear range.

“I stepped on the old ones and had to get a new pair,” Albanese said.

“I picked them out really quickly, but have had a lot of compliments.”

Even Albo’s casual garb is looking slick, pictured with Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

The weight loss — 15kg no less — was done on his own with a bit of hard yakka on the treadmill in his Canberra office, giving up alcohol and cutting carbs.

“He’s very much looking match fit,” one source said.

“He looks good. He doesn’t have a stylist but sometimes his staff will advise him.

“He’ll say no at first, but then he’ll go and do it on his own.”

But while The Sunny Boys and Radio Birdman T-shirts are possibly being rested alongside the Souths jerseys for now, voters can be rest assured they’ll be back out post election.

Once an inner westie, always an inner westie.

CONDUCT COST

The cost of a bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct review under way in the NSW parliament can be revealed at just under $400,000.

The Sauce can reveal former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick is being paid that amount to conduct the seven-month review which is set to be finalised by February next year.

The cost has been seized upon by One Nation MLC Mark Latham, who extracted the figure from the state government, and who declared the review as “unnecessary”.

NSW Legislative Council member Mark Latham.

Former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

The Broderick review, which is examining the complaints handling and support systems for MPs, staffers and support staff, follows a probe of NSW ministerial offices conducted earlier this year by fellow former sex discrimination commissioner Pru Goward.

The Goward review was commissioned by then-Premier Gladys Berejiklian in the wake of the alleged sexual assault of former Canberra staffer Brittany Higgins. Its finding included that ministerial staff were reluctant to report bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, amid fears of losing their jobs.

Latham has not only questioned the cost of the review, but also the lack of a competitive process in choosing who would do it.

“For a building with no identified cultural problems, it’s a huge and unnecessary amount to pay,” he texted The Sauce.

“Plus, why wasn’t the 400K subject to a competitive process among truly independent non-political reviewers?

“The 400K should have been spent on getting people in NSW back into work.”

MUSCLE TEE

If there was ever a politician not afraid to embrace fashion, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello would surely be it.

The always dapper Victor Dominello. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Dominello, who featured in The Sauce earlier this year for his sporty, on-trend man-cardigan, turned up the fashion stakes yet again after turning up to the Liberal MPs’ end-of-year drinks on Tuesday in what some of his colleagues described as a white “muscle tee”.

The fitted top even caught the attention of Premier Dominic Perrottet, who, during his speech, thanked Dominello for “dressing up”.

Held at the Glass Brasserie at the Hilton — MPs had to pay their own way — the event was a decidedly low-key affair after last year’s late-night finisher.

As expected, former Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not attend. However, Perrottet instructed MPs to “raise a glass to Glad” during his speech.

And, as a thank you to MPs’ partners, Perrottet also declared he would be suspending the $200-a-month discretionary fund contribution for 12 months.

The fund is used by the Premier to pay for things like flowers and gifts.

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