Scott Morrison portrait a hanging offence

Strewth correspondent Ben Packham snapped a portrait of Scott Morrison by an artist in the Solomon Islands during the PM’s trip last week.

Strewth correspondent Ben Packham snapped a portrait of Scott Morrison by an artist in Solomon Islands during the Prime Minister’s trip last week.

A painting of Scott Morrison in the Solomon Islands. Picture: Ben Packham

It reminded us of other slightly terrifying portraits of Australian leaders. Stephen Murray, creator of the excellent @Rudd2000, owns a gem: a portrait of Anthony Albanese, which hangs in his study. The painting was dropped into Albanese’s electoral office but languished unloved. When it became the raffle prize at the next Grayndler members’ barbecue, the winner gave it back. The next year a different winner stashed it in a cupboard. Years later he swapped the painting with Murray for a Tim Watts @Rudd2000 stubby holder.

Alex from Perth and the portrait of Bill Shorten she won in a Young Labor raffle.

A portrait of Anthony Albanese that hangs in the home office of Stephen Murray, creator of @Rudd2000

But the winner of the most distressing portrait is this artwork of Bill Shorten, won by Alex from Perth in a Young Labor raffle. When Strewth met her in 2016 she said it normally hung in her bathroom but she wheeled it out for Labor fundraisers. She said Shorten found it “terrifying”.

Pyning for a contest

Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles emulated Christopher Pyne’s enthusiasm on Barrie Cassidy’s last episode of Insiders yesterday. Pyne famously quipped “another day in paradise” in September 2015 during the Tony Abbott-Malcolm Turnbull leadership spill. Marles wasn’t far off when Cassidy asked what Albanese has that Shorten lacked.

Marles: “Well, firstly, it’s not a comparison between Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten. It’s actually not. Bill has been our leader for the last six years, and let me say I think he did a wonderful job. … But the real comparison going forward is between Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison, and what I can say about that is that Anthony Albanese is a deeply collaborative person. He is absolutely authentic in terms of the way he speaks about policy, by the way he speaks about life beyond politics. He is a person who has enormous experience and is greatly admired and respected across the labour movement and, I’ve got to say, as much as there is pain right now in the aftermath of the election, one of the things that really excites me is watching Anthony Albanese go up head-to-head with Scott Morrison, because over the next couple of years that’s going to be a whole heap of fun.”

All over the shops

Rose Jackson dropped some interesting names last week in her first speech as a member of the NSW Legislative Council. “Our society is still patriarchal. Men continue to enjoy advantage and preferment not because they are better or even necessarily any good at all, but because they are men. What a load of rubbish. Patriarchy, it’s time to get in the bin. Labor titans like Bruce Childs, John Faulkner, Anthony Albanese, Damian O’Connor, Luke Foley and especially my colleague John Graham taught me about resilience, fortitude and the power of being principled. Thanks also to Chris Bowen and John Watkins, whose wisdom has been, and remains, invaluable.” On Saturday, Jackson’s husband, Sam Crosby, Labor’s failed candidate for Reid, was rolled out by Albanese as part of his “bring out your dead” listening tour. Albanese said they hit the shops: “This morning I’ve been walking throughout Westfield Burwood,” the Opposition Leader explained. “There is nowhere better to get to know what Australians are thinking than walking through a local shopping centre on a Saturday morning. You get the full mix: people from different backgrounds, people who have different jobs, people who work and don’t work. People out there buying food and groceries for their family, or shopping at other major stores that are in that shopping centre.”