The Sauce: National and Liberal parties’ shooting challenge
TENSIONS between the Nationals and Liberals have been high for some time. So why did some MPs and staff reach for their shotguns — and just what were their targets?
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TENSIONS between the Nationals and Liberals have been high for some time. So why did some MPs and staff reach for their shotguns? The Sauce, The Sunday Telegraph’s political news and gossip column, reveals all.
LOVELY DAY FOR A SHOOTING PARTY
IT’S an annual bonding session held at the ACT Majura Park Gun Club where shooting enthusiasts from the Nationals challenge their Coalition colleagues to a few rounds of clay pigeon practice.
Organised by gun enthusiast Bridget McKenzie — the Nationals senator once spoke of her disdain at the snobbery of city dwellers about firearms — the August 16 event saw both pollies and staff loading up.
The Sauce notes the timing of the gathering — exactly one day before the Peter Dutton camp began plotting its move on Malcolm Turnbull. Coincidence?
As for shooting prowess, not even Senator McKenzie nor former SAS soldier Andrew Hastie could outshoot Liberal MP Ian Goodenough, according to a Nationals source.
“(Mr Goodenough) is the last person you’d think would be a crack shooter,” the source said.
“But you wouldn’t want to mess with him.”
JOYCE WOMEN FIRE BACK
WHEN The Sauce published a photograph of former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and his daughters last week, with the story Joyce and two of the girls were spotted dining at a Canberra steakhouse, we were contacted by his daughter Odette with an impassioned plea for assistance.
Nope, nothing particularly wrong with the item — although they’d rather it not run — but “if you are going to use a family photo, at least use an updated and decent one,” she wrote, before signing off her email with “mic drop”.
Request honoured. Here they are in timeless black and white.
DREAM CANDIDATE, GABY’S NIGHTMARE
STATE Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton is set to face a serious challenge for her blue-ribbon seat of Vaucluse, with Labor and the Greens preparing to preference a high-profile independent.
Registered nurse Miriam Guttman-Jones, a former Waverley councillor, is being encouraged to nominate for the eastern suburbs seat, which Ms Upton holds with a 22 per cent margin.
The Greens ate away at the margin at the last state election, narrowing it from 31.4 per cent.
A senior Labor source said Ms Guttman-Jones, a prominent member of the Jewish community, could be pushed across the line with preferences.
In 2015 Ms Guttman-Jones revealed her family’s harrowing Holocaust story.
Both her Polish-born parents survived Auschwitz but their 18-month-old daughter (Ms Guttman-Jones’ elder sister) was shot dead by the Nazis. Ms Guttman-Jones was born in Israel and the family came to Bondi as refugees in 1955.
MORE FROM THE SAUCE
LABOR PARTY’S SECRET WEAPON IN BACHELOR MANSION
BILL AND SCOMO’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
Ms Upton, who has held the seat since 2011, has had a rocky term with her office taking the blame for the bungled container deposit scheme, plus our revelation of her turnover of 13 ministerial drivers, with a former adviser later reportedly describing the office as “toxic”.
DOM’S PITCH TO THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE
IT’S called the “Manifesto for Middle Australia”, and who better to deliver it than NSW Treasurer Dom “I hate traffic” Perrottet.
The soon-to-be MP for Epping has been unveiled as the keynote speaker at a Menzies Research Centre function in Parramatta next month. In decidedly suspicious timing, invitations for the $30-a- ticket event were sent out in the same week Perrottet made his move on Castle Hill MP Ray Williams for his seat. Organisers say the timing was a coincidence, but are confident of strong ticket sales.
ALEX TURNBULL’S JARED MOMENT
IN the dying days of the Turnbull government you could have been confused for thinking the Prime Minister had hired a new adviser.
Staff in the PM’s office were bemused that Malcolm Turnbull’s Singapore-based son Alex was increasingly being included in policy discussions, with one comparing Donald Trump’s hiring of his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
While Alex’s involvement seemed to be a little more ad hoc, Team Turnbull insists none of the information shared with Alex in group texts was classified, but it did leaving them wondering what an expat investment banker could add to the domestic debate.
A TRUE RED, WHITE AND BLUESTER?
THE Sydney Roosters have a new fair weather fan. The Liberal candidate for Wentworth Dave Sharma has jumped aboard the red, white and blue bandwagon just in time for today’s grand final and a by-election.
The 42-year-old political aspirant went to his first Chooks match at last weekend’s semi-final and, not surprisingly, he’s now backing them in for the premiership.
While Sharma was pictured wearing the tricolour scarf with pride alongside club great Anthony Minichiello, his Twitter account shows he also follows Parramatta Eels. But Sharma’s campaign camp assured The Sauce he has never supported a league team until last week, least of all the Eels. Truth be told, the father-of-three prefers watching the Waratahs. He should fit into the eastern suburbs nicely.