The Sauce: GetUp! creates phone polling script to sway Wentworth voters
THE Wentworth by-election has brought left wing activists GetUp! forward as they try to get people not to vote for the Liberal Party. The Sauce reveals the group’s comical list of phone polling “dos and do nots”.
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THE Wentworth by-election has brought left wing activists GetUp! forward as they try to get people not to vote for the Liberal Party. The Sauce — The Sunday Telegraph’s political news and gossip column — reveals the group’s amusing list of phone polling “dos and do nots”.
TRY NOT TO BE RADICAL
A LEAKED phone polling script for volunteers working for left wing activists GetUp! has exposed the group’s comical tactics to try to sway votes away from the Liberals at the upcoming Wentworth by-election.
The script sets out rules for volunteers when calling voters.
Among the “dos” include being nice about Malcolm Turnbull.
“Listen, reflect, share a little of your own feelings to help connect,” it states.
“Don’t attack Malcolm Turnbull — he has a large personal vote in the electorate.”
Volunteers are also encouraged to “attack Peter Dutton and the hard right” for “tearing down Malcolm Turnbull”.
With tricky voters, such as those supporting moderate Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, volunteers are advised to follow the “objection handling” guidelines.
Start with a “fair enough”, then ask questions such as if Turnbull handled climate change well.
The script advises how to show voters they can support independent Kerryn Phelps without sending preferences to the Libs.
The script warns against the use of “radical language”: “We are not talking to our base, so it’s a slightly different tone and should not be too acute.”
Liberal Senator Trent Zimmerman said the document showed GetUp! was trying to bring down the government.
“In Wentworth, GetUp’s vehicle is Kerryn Phelps, who is being used as a stalking horse by Labor and GetUp! to create a hung parliament,” he said.
GetUp! campaign director Miriam Lyons said the organisation was calling voters in Wentworth “so everyone knows how appalling the Liberals record is on climate change’’.
LADIES FIRST IN HAWKESBURY
IF THE Liberal Party is a hotbed of misogyny and bullying, someone forgot to tell the three women vying to replace itchy-footed Treasurer Dominic Perrottet in the safe Liberal seat of Hawkesbury.
The Left is throwing its weight behind Sarah Richards, a law graduate and single mum of three, while the Right is split over its two candidates.
While Mr Perrottet is staying out of the battle, his staffer — Hills Shire councillor Robyn Preston — is understood have the support of some of his branches.
Other right-wing branches are throwing their numbers behind Business Council of Australia adviser Dee Zegarac. Also in the mix is Hawkesbury Shire councillor Nathan Zamprogno.
WHO REMEMBERS THE REPUBLIC?
WITH the pending arrival of Prince Harry and wife Meghan (their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to you) for the upcoming Invictus Games, NSW MPs desperate to boost their profiles — or simply rub shoulders with royalty — are scrambling to get their names on guest lists.
As one MP helping to organise the itinerary observed: “I never knew there were so many monarchists in parliament.”
Among the exceptions include Fair Trading Minister Matt Kean, who even resisted the pleas of his sister to try to attend an event: “I’ll be cheering the Aussies, not the English.”
As for his sister: “As a member of the parliamentary friendship group for an Australian Head of State, it would not be a good look.”
YOU REMIND ME OF A YOUNGER ME
THERE are few things more exciting than turning 18: finishing school, legally buying booze, leaving home.
But all those milestones pale when compared to seven lucky NSW students who were recently presented with awards — named in honour of their local federal MP, Labor’s Pat Conroy.
Mr Conroy took to social media to apologise to the lucky recipients as he was unable to attend all the ceremonies to dish out the eponymous gongs.
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Five students from five different high schools in his NSW electorate took home the prestigious “Pat Conroy Citizenship Award”, not to be confused with the “Pat Conroy Science and Technology Award” which was presented to a leading student at Belmont High School.
When forced to think up a name for a “community involvement” award for Whitebridge High School, Conroy again couldn’t look past himself.
Unsurprisingly, The Sauce couldn’t find any evidence of a “Pat Conroy Award for modesty”.
SHOWBIZ FOR TALENTED PEOPLE
DATING a Labor staffer has failed to dent the career of Liberal Dean Shachar, who has left the office of NSW Family and Community Services Pru Goward to work for Special Minister of State, Alex Hawke.
Dubbed “Boy Wonder” by the Centre Right faction, the highly-ambitious Shachar is regarded by the group as a future minister.
The Young Liberal and Rose Bay Secondary College graduate (his LinkedIn profile states he obtained an ATAR of 97.95) was recently dating fellow Sydney University student Alisha Aitken-Radburn, before her appearance on the most recent series of The Bachelor.
Aitken-Radburn, who once worked for Labor leader Bill Shorten, shot to fame as one of the Bachelor “mean girls”.
She now works at NSW Labor HQ, while Shachar is Hawke’s media adviser.
BREAD AND CIRCUSES TIME
AFTER a tumultuous few weeks, Liberal MPs have been letting down their hair with appearances at several major events.
After a big turnout at the opening night of Evita — guests included State ministers Matt Kean and Don Harwin — many MPs backed up the following week to watch the NRL Grand Final.
Among those in the catered NRL box included Wentworth Liberal candidate David Sharma, former Liberal leader John Brogden, Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton and Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward.
In a separate box, Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her two sisters were seen rubbing shoulders with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Bill Shorten.
NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres hedged his bets, roaming between the two boxes.