Rudd’s loss of Facebook
KEVIN Rudd may have brought Facebook to the fore as a political tool in Australia, but the Facebook group set up for his supporters appears to be slowly dying the death.
Strewth
Hostage to fortune
SHE came to Sydney to play the role of Matron Mama Morton in Chicago and she may have been expecting glamour but Kath and Kim comedian Gina Riley instead found herself occupying a room in a Darling Harbour hotel that overlooked the Pig Ship.
It’s my party
STATE governments are normally keen to trap journalists in their budget lock-ups, as a means to guarantee coverage.
Dead lucky
A SMALL segment of the population is unusually charitable, judging by the results of a poll at Ninemsn.com.au.
Just so, like, yesterday
JUST when we all thought it was a hoax of World Health Organisation Level 6 pandemic proportions, Australia is in the grip of swine flu and nobody seems to care.
Hardened journos wilt
JOURNALISTS don’t always feel particularly beloved as a profession. This is even more the case when they’re camped outside the headquarters of one of their targets.
Five-star notion picture
AFTER federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett got to his feet in parliament yesterday to congratulate the makers of Samson & Delilah for their triumph in Cannes (the Camera d’Or, for heaven’s sake!), his Opposition counterpart – the somewhat more enigmatic Steven Ciobo – also chipped in.
Sticky wicket or top spin?
ARE reports of the premature death of Shane Warne the Musical exaggerated?
Poopers pan party girls
THE saga of Tim Andrews and his heavily illustrated blog post on the “hottest girls” of Australian politics continues.
Party’s over, young man
FORMER Australian Liberal Students Federation president Tim Andrews’s pictorial spread of conservative hotties didn’t last long after its outing in Strewth yesterday.
The family way
POLITICS seems to be becoming a family business in Queensland, where an election looms.
The longest dames
AS AUSTRALIA’S population ages, we can proudly claim an increasing number of centenarians, but our number of dames is dwindling.
Heartbreak Highway
ANTI-DEVELOPMENT types have come up with a heart-rending romantic yarn, wrapped around recently engaged couple Sara Cameron and Sam Maloney, in an effort to convince Tassie Premier David Bartlett not to drive a road through the Tarkine wilderness.
Economy down, drink up
FOR a dedicated teetotaller, George W. Bush sure knows how to treat guests who like a glass or three of vino with their tucker.
Salad days settled
FEDERAL Sport Minister Kate Ellis, who had a long stint as a student at Adelaide’s Flinders University without quite managing to snare a degree, first became interested in politics when government higher education funding was slashed and students started racking up impressive Higher Education Contribution Scheme debts.
Dam and Deliverance
TODAY is the 25th anniversary of the Franklin Dam High Court decision, and Bob Hawke, Bob Brown, David Bellamy and 930 others will gather in Hobart tonight to celebrate their win for the wilderness.
Right guy for the chamber
THE Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Western Australia’s most active conservative lobby group, has a track record of campaigning against state Labor governments.
Court short on space
CONDITIONS on the opening day yesterday of the inquest into the death of Australian soldier Jake Kovco were anything but comfortable.
Old habits die hard
WITHIN the grounds of Parliament Housethere are various courtyards that are usedby all politicians for media conferences.
Division in time
WHISPERS in Queensland suggest the idea of splitting the state into two time zones during the summer months could be introduced next year.
Spider-Man counted out
FOR a while on Monday night Collingwood’s Dane Swan was doing very well in the AFL Brownlow Medal count.
Shedding light on the pill
THE unknown nightclub patron who slipped former rugby league star Andrew “Joey” Johns an ecstasy tablet in London last weekend could not have had worse timing.
Fireman Tony on the trail
TONY Abbott’s wife Margie says the Health Minister, with his usual boundless enthusiasm has taken to a new pastime she has labelled “golf without guilt”.
Making their mark
THE Herald Sun’s decision to give up 14 pages to analysis of Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy’s dismissal raised non-sporting eyebrows.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/strewth/page/88