Bob Hawke forgets who’s in the Lodge now with press club slip-up

Bob Hawke condemns the Prime Minister at the National Press Club in Canberra, yesterday:

The decision by … Malcolm Fraser to have this postal vote is the worst economic decision made by any Prime Minister since Federation.

Malcolm who? The Prime Minister’s official website:

Malcolm Turnbull became the 29th Prime Minister of Australia on September 15, 2015, and was sworn in for a second term on July 19, 2016.

Has anyone told Hawkie the news? The Australian online, March 20, 2015:

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who died today at 84 …

To be fair, he is really, really, really old. Wikipedia, yesterday:

… at the age of 87 years, 299 days, Hawke is currently the longest living former Australian prime minister.

Talking of politicians of old, former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett speaks to The Age about quitting the Hawthorn Football Club presidency. September 7 last year:

There is a time … you have to introduce new ingredients, new thoughts, new practices.

Clearly the former Victorian premier changed his mind. The Australianonline, yesterday:

The botched appointment of Tracey Gaudry has led to a leadership change at Hawthorn with former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett back as president for a second time.

Kennett said he had achieved all he could at the club. The Age, continued:

I argued … if you couldn’t achieve what you wanted by putting in — and I really mean putting in — in six years, then you were probably never going to.

The Hawks disagree. The Hawthorn board’s press release, yesterday:

The board ratified that former president Jeff Kennett assume the presidency subject to a members’ vote at the AGM in December, which has been accepted.

The once and future president did say he’d miss the Hawks when he left. Kennett in the Herald Sun, June 20, 2011:

I am going to miss it terribly … But it in no way alters my belief in the correctness of the decision to apply a two-term period of leadership for the presidency of the Hawthorn Football Club.

Maybe Kennett will make another comeback one day. Terry McCrann in the Herald Sun, August 22, 2014:

Jeff, please, please come back. Hopefully, straight as premier … The party needs you — more importantly, the state needs you.

In other news, the Catalans are very, very, very angry. The Australian, ­yesterday:

Large numbers of Catalans were expected to ­observe a general strike last night to condemn police violence at a banned weekend referendum on independence …

So the king of Spain decided to bag the Catalans … Felipe VI addresses the nation, yesterday:

They have broken the democratic principles of all rule of law … (and) tried to break the unity of Spain …

King Felipe should take note of the Catalans’ oath of allegiance to their then king in the 13th century:

We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than us, to accept you as our king and sovereign, provided you observe all our liberties and laws, but if not, not.