The Sauce: What trouble are you causing and how may I assist – Dutton

Liberal leader Peter Dutton has set tongues wagging after being spotted dining with Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone and independent Fowler MP Dai Le. Meanwhile, which MP has been enjoying a mani on the Central Coast. Don’t miss The Sauce.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton has set tongues wagging after being spotted dining with high-profile Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone and independent Fowler MP Dai Le at a western Sydney Italian restaurant last week.

The Sauce was told Dutton organised the Wednesday night meet-up at the locally famous Candelori’s Restaurant and Bar in Smithfield after the Wakeley church stabbing two days earlier, with the Opposition leader allegedly asking Carbone and Le if there was anything he could do.

But with Carbone never ruling out a possible federal tilt, The Sauce wonders if the catch-up was also for Dutton to suss out what the outspoken independent was up to – and what the Liberal leader could do to help, especially if the end result was the eviction of some of those pesky Labor MPs from western Sydney seats.

Ross Candelori, who has run the restaurant for 25 years, said it was Dutton’s office who booked the table, with staff serving up a selection of their best fare.

“They had scampi, pasta and zucchini flowers,” he said.

A bottle of wine was also brought to the table.

But we hear Carbone stuck to water.

Peter Dutton, Frank Carbone and Dai Le meet at Candelori's restaurant in Smithfield. Dutton was left holding the baby.

Candelori said Dutton, who at one point was seen holding a baby, was well-received by other diners, including “a table of 10 local Assyrians” who appreciated his visit.

“They were all speaking with each other – it was nice to have a Liberal person in the area,” Candelori said.

Candelori said he also used the opportunity to discuss the “big problem” of soaring electricity bills, which now cost the restaurant $26,000 a month.

Dutton agreed it was something that needed to be addressed.

It’s not just Carbone that Labor has to worry about – Liberal Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun has been encouraged by locals to run for the seat of Werriwa.

However, he seems to have his work cut out at present with the cops being called to last week’s council meeting amid a stoush over the general manager.

LET’S TALK

A year after high-profile Chinese-Australian Andy Yin lodged a complaint to the Human Rights Commission about the NSW Liberals rejecting his nomination to run at the last state election on racial grounds, we hear the party has agreed to mediate.

Yin had nominated for the seat of Strathfield – a seat with a large Chinese population – only to be quizzed about his involvement with the Australian Chinese Political Forum, the Greater Sydney Chinese Business Forum and the Australian International Investment Trade and Culture Association during the candidate vetting process.

Yin was later told his nomination had been rejected, with no reason given.

He told the ABC at the time that the Liberals “may have thought donations I made to the party were from the Chinese Communist Party and I was the middleman.”

Those listed in his complaint included former premier Dominic Perrottet, Liberal MP Mark Coure who was a party representative for the premier, former party state director Chris Stone, party affairs manager Wilson Chessell and then party president Maria Kovacic, all of whom have denied the allegations.

SPOTTED

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig enjoying a mani and pedi at Illusion Nails on The Central Coast.

Local government minister Ron Hoenig at Illusion nails.

VIVA LAS VEGAS

When Labor MP Steve Kamper was in opposition, he made a sport out of attacking the then Coalition government over its stadium plans, accusing ministers of spending money like “drunken sailors” and “blowing money on wasteful projects”.

And so it would be of little surprise to Kamper that – now that he is in government – his political rivals were going to put a magnifying glass over his recent trip with the NRL to Las Vegas, especially given he declared “sport and stadia infrastructure” as “the key theme” for the “mission”.

Stever Kamper was always to going to have his trip to Las Vegas put under the microscope.. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

While Kamper released the details of the trip and $34,511 cost publicly as ministers are required, Liberal MP Matt Cross decided to request further details via the GIPA Act.

The GIPA’d documents reveal Kamper and his staffer requested – and were granted – a chartered flight direct to Las Vegas to cut travel time, with the minister declaring how ticket prices were “consistent with commercial flight options”.

One email noted how the NRL was organising the charter at a cost of $15,000 per ticket return.

The emails also showed a quote for the four-star Hilton Club Elara, noting how the five-star Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas were fully-booked.

The emailed quote for Hilton Club Elara was listed as about $700 a night for the Superior King Studio.

Kamper and the NRL were joined by a crew of journalists on the trip, with the party attending NRL games at Allegiant Stadium.

They also participated in a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.

Kamper later announced plans to build a “Las Vegas-style roof” over Sydney’s Accor Stadium to attract more international acts and sporting events.

Cross said the “stadium-themed mission” was a bit rich given Kamper’s previous attacks on the Coalition, not to mention flying charter during “a cost of living crisis”.

However, Kamper’s spokesman said the trip had been valuable with the minister focused on finding “new revenue for our state venues network”.

And, having already created “over $200 million in new revenue”, Las Vegas was “a chance to see best practice and find new growth,” he added.

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