The Sauce: Nats and Libs prepare for duel in Port Macquarie
A damaging three-cornered contest will be held in the Coalition-held seat of Port Macquarie, meanwhile, interstate counterparts are seizing on Premier Chris Minns’ woes.
NSW
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A damaging three-cornered contest will be held in the Coalition-held seat of Port Macquarie with both the Nationals and Liberals to field a candidate.
The by-election has been triggered by the sudden resignation of Leslie Williams, who first represented the sat as a National before defecting to the Liberals over koala policy.
It is not the first time the Nats have “lost” grip on the seat as a result of a defecting member – in 2002 the then long-serving Nationals MP Rob Oakeshott also resigned from the party to become an independent.
While Williams argues the seat had become more “urbanised” – and arguably more “Liberal”, the Nats are adamant the seat remains their own.
“We will be running a candidate and hope to retain the seat, continuing our long and proud history in the region,” Nationals leader Dugald Saunders declared, before noting how the seat had “since its inception in 1988” been represented by the party “between 1988-2002 and 2011-2020”.
“The NSW Nationals always fight for the best interests of the regions and Port Macquarie remains a crucial part of that,” he said.
A Liberal Party spokesman said the party had a “rich history” of delivering for people across the state.
“The candidate we put forward will build on the achievements of Leslie Williams and continue fighting for the needs of Port Macquarie,” he said.
The risk of running against each other is the prospect the move could deliver the seat to an independent.
NSW BLUES
With NSW often smugly touted as the superior state, it is no surprise Premier Chris Minns’ interstate counterparts are seizing on his woes.
In a press release issued last week about housing construction, the Victorian government gloated how it was building “more homes than any other state”, including “15,600 more homes than NSW”.
Two days later, the Queensland government posted advertisements calling for NSW psychiatrists to come across the border where they would receive “better pay”.
“NSW psychiatrists, Queensland is calling,” the ads declared. “We already pay more”.
TRUMP TIX
The hottest ticket in town this week was to the Starlight Ball at the iconic Union Station in Washington DC.
While some were lucky enough to score an exclusive invite or sponsorship, others were parted with millions for access.
Among the Australians at the ball included Ambassador of Australia to the United States Kevin Rudd and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
Spotted deep in conversation with American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy – who is vying to become the next governor of Ohio – and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Sydney-based consultant Jeremy Greenwood.
Perrottet has immersed himself in US life since relocating his family after taking on the job of head of US corporate and external affairs at BHP.
Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart was also at the ball, and seen mingling with other VIPS.
The event was one of three balls held, but was believed to be the most exclusive with only 1000 guests.
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