The Sauce: Premier Chris Minns declines the chance to don hot-pink shorts to Mardi Gras

The Sauce: Chris Minns will make history tonight as the first NSW Premier to walk in Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade — but he won’t be following the hot-pink shorts dress code.

Dress codes are always important when attending VIP events — especially when you’re the Premier of NSW.

But when the invite rolled in to the office of Chris Minns for “short pink shorts”, staff were quick to intervene.

Minns is set to march in the Mardis Gras on Saturday night, with Rainbow Labor indicating to the Premier that its members would be wearing short pink shorts in homage to former South Australian Premier Don Dunstan.

Premier Chris Minns has passed up the chance to wear hot-pink shorts, like those favoured by former SA premier Don Dunstan in 1972, at this year's Sydney Mardi Gras parade.

Dunstan, who was bisexual and headed the first state government to decriminalise gay sex, famously wore the shorts to work in 1972.

The Sauce was told a staff discussion about the dress code resulted in pink shorts being given a big no.

It is understood Minns also ruled out turning up in tracksuit pants.

This is despite the premier’s fondness for leisure wear (he apparently would wear them every day if he could).

The Premier — the first in NSW to march in the parade — was apparently planning to appear in “boring” but respectable attire.

MUD PIES

With the countdown clock started before Liberal Party selectors choose who they want to replace Scott Morrison in the seat of Cook, last minute mud-slinging was under way.

However, one mud pie thrown at candidate Simon Kennedy this week appeared to backfire in his favour.

Cook Liberal preselection candidate Simon Kennedy. Picture: Facebook

The rumour had gone around that Kennedy, who has the support of everyone from former prime minister Tony Abbott and ex-premier Nick Greiner to Australian Cricketers’ Association CEO Todd Greenberg and Garry Connille, the former prime minister of Haiti, had left the party in serious debt.

The debt was allegedly incurred during his campaign in Bennelong, when he ran as a candidate at the 2022 federal election.

When The Sauce approached Kennedy’s camp, we were given a letter from NSW Liberal Party finance operations director Peter Wheatley, who revealed not only was there never any debt, but that Kennedy’s fundraising “and personal contributions” had raised $545,000 for the party.

“You owe no debt to the Liberal Party of Australia,” Wheatley wrote.

Kennedy, who had another round of drinks on Thursday with Greiner as his VIP guest, is one of four Cook candidate hopefuls hoping to woo the more than 300 party preselectors who will select a candidate on Monday.

Rival candidate Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce is being supported by state Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, while former prime minister John Howard has come out in support of veterans advocate Gwen Cherne.

Ex-UAP candidate Ben Britton also held eleventh-hour drinks at the Miranda Hotel last week, with about 70 people attending.

Surf safari

Former Planning NSW boss Mick Cassel has moved on from Walker Corporation.

Cassel took up the job with the property developer just months after leaving his role as secretary of the NSW planning department last May, prompting the Minns government to conduct a review of recent development approvals handed to the property giant.

Despite nothing being uncovered, The Sauce hears Cassel himself has decided to move on. A source close to Cassel said he wanted a break, and was last heard getting “barrelled in Indo”. That’s surf speak for catching a tube.

As for who will replace Cassel, sources say it will be former Bradcorp CEO Peter Grogan.

Bradcorp is known for its close relationship with the government’s developer Landcom, while sources say Grogan has close ties to Labor.

Walker Corporation will obviously be hoping Grogan will help realise the pipeline of housing projects planned for Sydney’s southwest.

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