The Sauce: MP Peter Poulos sorry for Robyn Preston Penthouse porn email
A NSW Liberal MP who distributed explicit images of a fellow female party member who once modelled as a Penthouse ‘pet’ has apologised for the ‘mistake’, writes The Sauce.
NSW
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A NSW Liberal MP who sent explicit images of a fellow female party member in the lead-up to her preselection battle has apologised while conceding he made a “regrettable mistake”.
The incident occurred five years ago when former Hills Shire councillor Robyn Preston was vying for the seat of Hawkesbury in a fiercely-contested preselection battle.
During the contest, it emerged how Preston – a member of the conservative hard-right faction – had modelled as a Penthouse “pet” in the 1980s with explicit photographs from the modelling shoot leaked to media outlets.
Despite the smear campaign, Preston won her preselection.
The Sauce has subsequently sighted an email from a “Peter John Poulos” sent to a fellow Liberal member in the lead-up to the preselection, with the subject heading “Treasurer’s Pet” and the message “Enjoy” and “please clean up pdf”.
The email included grainy images of Preston, which appeared to be copies of photographs taken from the magazine.
Peter Poulos was not an MP at the time, but was working as a political staffer.
We posed a series of questions to Poulos about the email and what the motive in sending the picture was.
He provided The Sauce with this on-the-record statement: “Robyn Preston and I are great friends who have known and supported each other over many years.
“We shared a lighthearted conversation and reflected on this old story first reported way back in 2012.
“I reached out to Robyn and apologised. I made a regrettable mistake. She in turn has been gracious and was actually surprised that the story had resurfaced again.”
Preston – who learned of the email this week after Poulos called her – said it was time to “move on”.
“Peter called me and I told him the same thing – time to move on,” she said, while noting how the pair had been “good mates for years”.
Poulos said he did not send the email to media outlets. When asked, he said: “No.”
PREMIER CROWD
Former Liberal leader John Brogden can still pull a crowd.
Despite moving up from his role of chair of Lifeline Australia to elected president of Lifeline International, Brogden can still command the attendance of the VIPs to his fundraisers – even yet-to-be-elected political leaders.
The invitation to the Lifeline International President’s Lunch declares the event will involve a conversation with the Guest of Honour – the NSW Premier.
But given the $4500-a-table event is to be held on March 31 – a week after the state election – Brogden has had to run photographs of both Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns with a disclaimer.
The disclaimer reads: “Dom Perrottet and Chris Minns have generously agreed that whoever is Premier after the 25th of March election will attend as the Guest of Honour in conversation with ABC journalist Jeremy Fernandez.”
Brogden confirmed to The Sauce that both had agreed to come, pending the result.
“And if it’s a hung parliament, I’ll ask them both to come,” he said, while revealing how a Liberal MP suggested he may also have to extend the invitation to Greens leader Cate Faehrmann.
The event will be held at The Fullerton Hotel in Martin Place, Sydney, with tickets $4500 for a table of 10.
GOSLING GOES WEST
After bravely clinging to a skip bin as it hurtled along the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Hollywood star Ryan Gosling now has his sights set on the WestConnex.
The Sauce can reveal producers of the movie adaptation of the 1980s television series The Fall Guy in which Gosling is to star have sought permission to film another stunt sequence on the Western Sydney motorway.
It is not clear whether the filming will occur on the older or new tunnel section of the busy thoroughfare, only that it is to occur in a couple of weeks.
Given the Harbour Bridge was closed for Gosling to perform his stunt sequence, The Sauce expects the WestConnex might also be (although motorway operators Transurban could probably cash in by keeping it open).
Premier Dominic Perrottet did once famously declare that the thoroughfare could one day become a “tourist attraction”.
PICTURE THIS
While Perrottet and Minns are relying on their mobile phone-wielding staff to take campaign photos or videos while on the road, Nationals leader Paul Toole is stepping it up a notch.
Toole has enlisted the professional services of veteran News Corp photographer Adam Taylor to be part of his travelling crew.
Up until the May federal election, Taylor was the official photographer and videographer for then prime minister Scott Morrison.
When The Sauce asked about Taylor, Toole’s staff confirmed there was “a person assigned to provide digital content for the DP (deputy premier) and media outlets”.
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