The Sauce: Matt Kean and Labor leader Chris Minns in ugly exchange

Labor leader Chris Minns and Treasurer Matt Kean have traded verbal blows in the wake of controversial corruption allegations by sacked Labor frontbencher Tania Mihailuk.

Treasur Matt Kean and Labor leader Chris Minns traded verbal blows on Saturday after what was a tumultuous end to the week for both.

Kean woke up to two polls showing Labor in the lead, while Minns is dealing with the aftermath of having sacked frontbencher Tania Mihailuk live on air for using parliamentary privilege to blow up a party colleague.

Mihailuk, who has turned off her phone and at the time of press had not spoken to Minns, is rumoured among some of her colleagues to be open to the idea of signing up to One Nation. The Bankstown MP did not respond to The Sauce.

However, her explosive corruption allegations about Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour – whom she linked to jailed former minister Eddie Obeid before accusing party leaders of ignoring the “horrific influence” of property developers in the party – have continued to have reverberations on Saturday.

Labor leader Chris Minns Picture: NCA NewsWire

After Kean suggested a parliamentary committee inquiry might be needed to get to the bottom of the claims, Minns declared he would be open to one – so long as it would also examine the corruption allegations made by Liberal MP Ray Williams in state parliament back in July.

Williams, who is the member for Castle Hill, also used parliamentary privilege to claim senior party members had been paid “significant funds” by a prominent property developer to install new councillors on the Hills Shire council to get development applications through.

“I don’t think we’ve got to the bottom of that and they were obviously extraordinary implications,” Minns told reporters.

Bankstown Labor MP Tania Mihailuk has not yet spoken to Minns since being sacked live on air Picture: Tim Hunter.

The Labor leader also suggested the inquiry take a “closer look” at the $90m grant Kean secured for the council.

“I’d love to see how he was able to get his hands on that money, directed to his own community, and in effect never explained the reasons why or the circumstances behind it,” Minns said.

Firing back, Kean – who refers to the Labor leader in parliament as “miserable Minns”– accused the Opposition leader of launching a smear campaign “against anyone calling him out”.

Treasurer Matt Kean Picture NCA Newswire

“Chris Minns has now killed off the political careers of two female whistleblowers,” Kean said, referring to Mihailuk and former Labor MP Jodi McKay.

SAVING WARRINGAH

THE bitterly divided Liberal Warringah branch held its annual general meeting on Saturday, with controversial federal candidate Katherine Deves turning up as guest speaker.

Attendees were given little notice bout the event – the rules are such that members must be given 15 days – which caused one local to send out an 11th-hour email to gather a crowd.

One member speculated it may have been done deliberately to avoid Deves attracting media attention.

Senator Andrew Bragg gave an address via video, with members voting in PWC consultant Alex Dore as Warringah president.

Former Liberal Candidate for Warringah, Katherine Deves with ex-PM Tony Abbott Picture: Jeremy Piper

MUFFIN GATE

IN any other workplace, a staff member bringing in home-cooked muffins would bring joy among his or her colleagues.

However, this is not the case when the workplace is a maximum-security prison housing violent offenders.

The Sauce heard staff at Shortland Correctional Centre in Cessnock were in revolt when a female staff member brought in muffins for the inmates over the weekend. One staff member – who claimed it was not the first time – said a complaint was made to the jail functional manager and manager of security.

“No governor anywhere in the country would approve an officer, particularly a female at that, taking it upon herself to cook muffins for violent offenders,” the staffer said. “The staff are calling it muffin-gate.”

When The Sauce asked Corrective Services NSW about the rules around bringing in home-cooked goods, a department spokeswoman confirmed there were strict guidelines as to what could be brought into a prison.