Off The Record: News and gossip from South Australia’s corridors of power

THIS week, there’s a rat lurking in City Hall, Sally Zou’s dubious statement on SA diamond find and Eva the Democracy Sausage Dog picks a big election wiener.

The hunt is on for the rat in Adelaide's city hall.

THERE is a rat lurking in the ranks of the Adelaide Town Hall.

Adelaide city councillors have reported seeing damage in the members’ room, including stuffing pulled out of the back of one of the couches, which they believe has been used to make a nest.

A rat is yet to be sighted but a cage and a trap has been positioned next to one of the couches.

Councillors and council administration are understood to be hesitant to enter the room until the rodent is caught. It is unknown if it is just one rat or whether numerous vermin are now infesting the Town Hall.

A council spokesman told Off The Record that damage to some carpet in the room had alerted staff to the pest.

He said that council administration had “arranged for the area to be baited and trapped as a precaution”.

Biscuits are understood to have been planted inside the cage. But the rat outsmarted the trap and enjoyed the biscuit without being caught – leaving a trail of crumbs across the carpet.

The rat’s presence meant councillors’ supplies, including coke and fruit, were not stocked up before their meetings this week.

However, Off The Record understands that The Rat Patrol was Lord Mayor Martin Haese’s favourite TV show as a child. With experience like this, perhaps the Lord Mayor can now become the chief rat catcher.

The incident has been deemed “extremely rare” by council.

Tony Abbott and Jamie Briggs meet for coffee.

Cutlery off the table as allies revisit night of long knives

IT was a long way from the infamous Canberra hijinks on the night Tony Abbott was ousted as Prime Minister by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015.

That night, Abbott ally and then-minister Jamie Briggs sustained a knee injury, which he eventually revealed happened when he went to tackle the outgoing PM, ran at him and missed.

Far away in time and space from the angst of that Canberra night, Abbott and Briggs caught up for coffee in Adelaide this week at the fine Franklin St establishment ­Kinetto.

The coffee house and kitchen is just outside the Adelaide office of PwC Australia, where the now relaxed and comfortable Briggs is a partner.

There, Briggs focuses on priorities including government, cities, defence and infrastructure.

Abbott was in town for a speech to the Liberal faithful at The ­Adelaide Club, a fitting venue.

Ironically, this was where Abbott lunched with senior South Australian Liberal Christopher Pyne the day before he was knifed as PM.

Given the speculation at the time that Pyne had assured Abbott of support on Sunday and backed Turnbull the next day, it’s a fair bet the former PM didn’t hang around for the Sturt MP’s celebration on Friday of his 25 years in federal ­politics.

Sally Zou - images from Twitter page for Off the Record

Diamonds are a girl’s best fiction

MYSTERY cheque-tweeter Sally Zou claimed to have found an “excellent deposit of diamonds in early 2017” in South Australia, but that statement appears dubious.

The proclamation appeared in a double-page advertisement in The Advertiser on Valen­tine’s Day in which Ms Zou said her company “AusDiamond is your valentine South Australia!”

After checking in with the State Government, Off The ­Record can tell you that while Ms Zou, who did not respond to attempts to contact her, took possession of an exploration tenement in February, previously held by Copper Claim Pty Ltd, there has been no exploration approved as yet.

The tenement, about 60km east of Port Augusta, “was transferred on 7 February 2018 to Aus Diamond Mining Group. Subject to Exploration Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation ­(E-PEPR) approvals, the company intends to continue the extensive exploration previously conducted by Flinders Diamond”, the State Government said.

Flinders spent years looking for diamonds in SA but came up with only modest results, and it’s clear from this statement that there has been no exploration there so far by AusDiamond.

We wish them all the best.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, Opposition Leader Steven Marshall and SA Best leader Nick Xenophon at the South Australian Political leaders debate at the Adelaide Festival Palais. Picture: Morgan Sette

Masculine ABC

THIS week’s ABC election debate attracted some attention from high-profile women for lacking sufficient female representation.

Among “flabbergasted” critics was former Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoja and a puzzled Sunrise correspondent Amanda Bachmann.

ABC news presenter Jessica Harmsen explained, via Twitter: “We, of course, strived for more balance but, unfortunately, due to illness and late cancellations, it is what it is.”

Picking a big wiener

THE big hit of the election campaign, Eva the Democracy Sausage Dog, certainly is dedicated to her task of picking wieners.

The relentless hound was struck down by illness on Wednesday night, having leapt on to a table at home and eaten dark chocolate.

Despite spending all night at the vet, Eva fronted up the next day at Westfield West Lakes, in the seat of Lee.

She opted for the wiener from Liberal Steven Rypp’s bowl.

SA Liberal candidate Kuldip Chugha Source: Twitter

Tick-et off

LAST November we brought you the curious case of Kuldip Chugha. At the time Chugha occupied the seventh spot on the Liberal Party’s Legislative Council ticket. But a check of the official ticket this week revealed Chugha’s name to be absent. That November story revealed how Chugha had been reprimanded by then Judge David Lovell in 2009 for falsely claiming to be a doctor in court documents.

Liberal state director Sascha Meldrum said Chugha withdrew his nomination in December “due to community work commitments’’.

Poster boy

IT’S a brave politician who seeks a little sympathy in the midst of a tense election campaign as Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan found out this week.

Mullighan complained on Facebook about campaign posters being torn down in his seat of Lee. And not just his, but Liberal opponent Steven Rypp’s as well.

What followed was a deluge of comments and abuse, as people voiced hatred for the election litter. The abuse, even between Facebook users, was such the digital post followed the physical posters and came down.