The Sauce: Yasmin Catley’s staffer takes rap for Chairman’s Lounge disclosure fail

As politicians around Australia scrambled to make sure all freebies had been documented in the wake of the PM’s Qantas upgrade saga, one NSW Minister realised they were not quite up to date. Read details in The Sauce.

Police Minister Yasmin Catley accepted a Chairman’s Lounge membership in July, but only disclosed it this week in the wake of the “Upgrade Albo” fiasco.

Catley was originally offered Chairman’s Lounge membership 18 months ago, but didn’t take it up. However, in July she changed her mind and accepted.

Catley’s chief-of-staff took the rap for the tardiness, admitting to The Sauce: “Yeah we were too slow”.

The Ministerial Code explicitly states that any updates to disclosures must be made to the Cabinet Office “promptly”.

Given Catley’s chief-of-staff is a veteran in the game, one of his colleagues joked that three months was “prompt” given his age.

Police Minister Yasmin Catley (left) with NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. Picture: Damian Shaw

Catley’s office was not the only one to update their disclosures, the Chairman’s Lounge fiasco had politicians and their staff from Sydney to Canberra frantically checking their records this week to ensure all freebies had been accurately documented.

Several federal MPs updated their disclosures during the course of the week, including Victorian Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles who declared on October 29 an “unrequested” Qantas upgrade to Business Class.

Labor Senator Tim Ayres had no airline upgrades, but there was “a case of gin”, an Akubra hat, some wine, two tickets to the Midwinter Ball and two copies of a “rail geotechnology” book listed in his update.

A source close to Ayres claimed the timing of the update was coincidental with the office logging its latest interests at the end of each month.

HARRIS FANS

Kamala Harris appears to have some bipartisan support in NSW parliament.

Both moderate Liberal MP Felicity Wilson and left-wing Labor minister Rose Jackson have Harris posters on the doors of their offices in Parliament House.

Our political operatives informed us Wilson had two A4-sized posters on her Level 10 office door, with the logo “Let’s win this – Harris for President”.

One floor below, Jackson had an A3 poster on her office door, with “big font” declaring “Harris for president”.

The operative said smaller font indicated the poster was paid for by the Pennsylvania Democrat Party.

LIB TROUBLE

Three of the university students who appear in footage depicting the Red Zone rape report being torn up have worked or are working in Liberal MP offices.

A number of students were videoed at a University of Sydney student council meeting on Wednesday tearing up copies of the report, which documents the 2018 investigation into sexual violence and hazing at university colleges.

The report was being torn up as a speech was being made, which had mentioned a recent

hazing incident involving University of Sydney students at St Paul’s College.

NSW Liberal Party state director Chris Stone is investigating the involvement of Young Liberals in the incident.

The report ripping incident.

Students throw remnants of the report.

One of the students in the footage has been working one day a week in a temp capacity for NSW Liberal MP Chris Rath.

It is understood the student is not alleged to be engaged in any wrongdoing.

Two other students worked in the office of federal Liberal MP Paul Fletcher.

It is understood one of the students who is accused of ripping up the report is being investigated.

Fletcher said neither student remained in his office.

“(Name withheld) and (name withheld) are not currently working as volunteers as part of my campaign,” Fletcher said.

“Previously, (name withheld) and (name withheld) worked as volunteers for approximately three days each as part of an experience program.”

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