The Sauce: Deputy Premier John Barilaro celebrates 10 years in office
Some of the Coalition’s biggest names paid tribute to mark John Barilaro’s decade in state parliament and there were one or two digs to be had at the Deputy Premier’s expense.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Almost one year since Deputy Premier John Barilaro told Nationals leader Michael McCormack what he really thought of him in an explosive text message, the pair have cemented their truce.
While MickMack was not present at the Queanbeyan dinner held to mark Bara’s decade in state Parliament on Friday night, the Riverina MP did sent a video message paying tribute to his state counterpart.
And clearly, he has not forgotten about that SMS nor its “leak” to Sky News.
After wishing Bara all the best, MickMack offered to put the message “in a text” so that “anyone at Sky can read it”.
A Nationals source at The Royal Hotel event said the pair were genuinely on good terms, speaking regularly about policy and attending events together.
“They’re good,” the source said. “The Nats are in a good place at the moment and it was felt in the room.
“It’s the feeling of confidence and unity.
“Everyone was in a good mood.”
About 150 guests attended the dinner, with VIPs including Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian also sent a video message, along with Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
On the menu was steak and chicken with an entree of pork belly, also good-humouredly described as “pork Barilaro” by one guest in reference to Bara’s recent defence of his allocation of bushfire grants: “What we call pork-barrelling is investment.”
Also seizing on the reference in his video message, Joyce said the term was “a badge of honour”.
HAVING A SHOT
IT’S still early days, but the Shooters have been buoyed by a new poll which shows the party to be in third — and in striking distance from a victory — in the Upper Hunter.
The poll, commissioned by the NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and comprising just over 1500 respondents, has the Nationals at 25, Labor 21 and Shooters 18 on primaries.
One Nation also is understood to have polled in the “low teens”. Of course, with the by-election still five weeks away, anything can happen.
But the Shooters say being three points behind Labor at this early stage is a good start.
“There is a path to victory,” a Shooters source said.
“If we can get ahead of Labor, we can do it.”
GOT SOME SAUCE? CONTACT LINDA.SILMALIS@NEWS.COM.AU
More Coverage
Originally published as The Sauce: Deputy Premier John Barilaro celebrates 10 years in office
Underworld figure survives third shooting in 18 months
Khoder Hamdan has narrowly avoided being shot on a busy road in Auburn after being warned by police to leave Sydney because a bounty is on his head.
Lights out, fridges off, schools shut in Broken Hill
After a storm last week left residents without power, the main generator has now failed, forcing locals and businesses to rely on diesel backups and triggering a government investigation.