Acting cameos with MickMack

Nationals leader Michael McCormack has been MIA during his big week filling in as acting prime minister.

Michael McCormack, left, and farmer Phil Blowes near Yeoval in central west NSW. Picture: Clare Armstrong

Where’s MickMack? Nationals leader Michael McCormack has been MIA during his big week filling in as acting prime minister. According to data from Streem media monitoring, there has been more buzz about Ten’s new show, The Masked Singer, than the man currently in charge of the nation. Between Sunday and Wednesday Scott Morrison appeared in 4550 print, online and radio stories. Donald Trump was mentioned 5177 times; Boris Johnson 1797; Greta Thunberg 1330; Anthony Albanese 429; and The Masked Singer 307. But McCormack? He clocked up a modest 179 references. After MickMack tried to give Joel a whack, we hear he has been told to keep his head down by the PMO. So, is he in hiding? His office didn’t even bother to change his letterhead to Acting Prime Minister on the three press releases it has put out this week. According to his social media, McCormack has interfaced with an intersection in Melbourne’s north, gauged some highway guardrails in the Northern Territory, spoken about solar in the Riverina and declared there’s some “Dam good news for Tasmanian irrigators”. But the highlight was a visit to Yeoval, central west NSW, where he got to squat and stare at some shoots. Farmer Phil Blowes has created a system to feed sheep wheat grain sprouts during the drought — nutritionally better and cost effective.

taus strewth acting PM graphic

Toking gesture

Forget Nimbin, Lake Burley Spliffin looks likely to become Australia’s new chronic capital after the locals — puff, puff — passed the bill for personal cannabis use. According to Peter Dutton, these “trendy” laws indicate “they’re enlightened and progressive and all the rest of it”. It’s good news for federal pollies and staff looking to get Parlimunted at 4.20pm in sitting weeks. From January 31 adults in our nation’s capital can dabble in some Old Parliament Hash or get High Court High. Manuka Mary Jane is known to give users the munchies. And don’t get us started on Gun-ganja-lin. Strewth’s former owner James Jeffrey, now speechwriter for Albanese, queried: “If you punched a cone at Floriade, would this constitute a bouquet bong?” They don’t call it the Bush Capital for nothing.

Falling fowl

Earlier this week we detailed the $56,000 of taxpayers’ money spent this year by Parliament House for Floyd the peregrine falcon, Tilley the brown goshawk and Wot the barking owl to fend off the defecating ducks and menacing magpies. One reader asked what happens to the offending fowl captured by the winged patrol — are they killed? The Department of Parliamentary Services told Strewth: “The Full Flight Conservation Centre’s methodology is to use raptors to scare pest birds, not to kill them. Native birds are not harmed during the program.” But don’t breathe easy just yet. “The centre also conducted netting of 22 pigeons in the public carpark and humanely euthanised them off site.” Coo coo ca choo.

Moth balls-up

Also in the bubble, the ACT government intends to transfer tens (yes, tens) of critically endangered golden sun moths — as The Canberra Times notes “presumably by hand and carrier” — from grasslands near Governor-General David Hurley’s Yarralumla abode to make way for the new Canberra Brickworks development. There’s no guarantee the larvae will survive and mature moths won’t be relocated because of their lifespan of three to five days. We don’t want to pick holes in their methodology, but maybe they could borrow Labor’s Light on the Hill? If it’s still working.

[e-mail]