Politician widely touted as New South Wales’ next premier is accused of deliberately making himself appear taller in photos
- Chris Minns said Dominic Perrottet is ‘lying’ about being six feet tall
- Consultant John Macgowan now accuses Mr Minns of being afraid of heights
- Says he makes himself look taller by posing cleverly in photos
A politician widely touted as New South Wales’ next premier has been accused of deliberately making himself appear larger in photos as the election progresses.
Chris Minns, the NSW Labor leader, joked that NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet is ‘lying’ about being 193 cm tall during a radio appearance Tuesday morning.
Following the comments, independent private adviser John Macgowan claimed that Mr Minns himself is ‘afraid of heights’ and deliberately poses in photos to appear taller than he is – but Labor has hit back by claiming its leader is 6 feet 8 inches (182.8 cm) tall and that there is no deceit in his photographs.
Chris Minns, the leader of NSW Labor (centre) and rising star in the party, joked that NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet was ‘lying’ during a radio appearance Tuesday morning that he is six feet tall
Mr Minns appeared on KIIS 106.5’s Kyle and Jackie O show on Tuesday morning, following an appearance by Mr Perrottet the day before as they prepared for the state election at the end of the month.
Mr Perrottet said he would commit to running with Mr Minns, claiming his height could give him an advantage despite his rival being an avid jogger.
When the opposition leader confirmed he would be entering the race, he joked: “I think there’s some altitude inflation there. If he claims to be six feet tall, I’ll call him a liar.”
Following the comments, John Macgowan, a former political strategist turned private consultant, revealed that he was “doing a survey on Minns’ fear of heights and how many of his more statuesque female colleagues seem to shrink in official photos.” Mr. Minns is pictured in the center
Following the comments, Mr Macgowan noted how many of his more statuesque female colleagues appear to shrink in official photos.
Chris Minns took a swipe at Dom Perrotet so I thought it was worth taking a closer look at his, and it turns out there are a lot of differences in his official photos that make him seem taller than he really is,” he said. told Daily Mail Australia.
You don’t have to be tall to be prime minister, of course, but it shows how far political strategists will go to make their candidates look good, or make their colleagues look shorter, as the case may be.
Mr Macgowan took to Twitter and shared a series of photos of Mr Minns (centre), including one where he appeared to be the same height as MP Steve Kamper (far right), who is 6 feet 10 inches tall.
‘Political campaigns are such sterile affairs these days.
“I thought it would be funny to explore how superficial some of the strategies people like me use to stay ahead of the competition,” he added.
Macgowan shared a series of photos of Mr Minns on Twitter, including one where he appeared to be the same height as Steve Kamper – a 6ft2 MP (188cm).
But in another photo, he looks the same height as Greg Warren, a much shorter politician.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, a Labor spokesman joked: ‘It’s true. This is of course a huge setback for our campaign.’
“It was a secret that we hoped would last until Election Day.”
“We have 17 days to return it.”