Strewth: League of PM’s own

Scott Morrison turned down an invitation to walk on to the field at the NRL Grand Final and congratulate the Sydney Roosters.

Scott Morrison stays in the stands at a Sharks game last month. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison turned down an invitation to walk on to the field at Sunday’s NRL grand final and congratulate the Sydney Roosters on their big win. The NRL has been keeping the focus on players for the past couple of grand finals and cut the presentation team down to size — even Australian Rugby League commission chairman Peter Beattie wasn’t on stage in Sydney. But the Prime Minister’s office and the NRL confirmed yesterday that Morrison declined an offer to shake the players’ hands and give them the premiership trophy. It makes him the first PM in a while not to take part in the NRL grand final post-game presentation. Every PM from John Howard to Malcolm Turnbull has done it (though Turnbull only did it once, in 2015, earning a frosty reception from the crowd). So why not the league-mad Morrison? Sources close to the PM say he told the NRL he didn’t want politics to distract from the game. Fair enough. But we can’t help but note his loyal backbench MP Julie Bishop got wild cheers every time she appeared on screen at Saturday’s AFL grand final. Surely the Prime Minister too would have got the crowd whooping?

Bold Eagle

Morrison was not scared of booing, or Bishop, at the West Coast Eagles’ Perth base yesterday. He addressed the AFL premiers at Perth Stadium after their team meeting. “What you create for the fans is magic,” Morrison told the Eagles alongside Liberal MP Steve Irons and the former foreign minister. The PM had backed the Eagles over Collingwood, to the shock of Victorians. Asked earlier if he was the Dom Sheed or Adam Simpson of the Coalition team, the Prime Minister kind of admitted he had no idea what that meant. “You know, I’m not an AFL fan. I mean, I appreciate the game,” he said.

Animal instincts

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy must be struggling to win votes in the next election, because he has turned to the animals. No, he doesn’t want to emancipate the elephants. Guy promised yesterday to make admission to Melbourne Zoo free on public holidays under a government he leads. We would have thought all political leaders would be inclined to avoid any statement that may connect them to zoos, circuses, or muppet shows.

Pretty pollie pay

Strewth was very interested in Pauline Hanson’s ABC-themed opinion piece in this august organ yesterday. As the One Nation leader writes, it seems a bit much that the ABC managing director earns more than the BBC director-general. As does the fact British MPs earn slightly less than$140,000 a year, whereas the average salary for our federal politicians is $199,040 after a recent pay rise. Luckily, Hanson has covered herself on that discrepancy. “I’m challenging every other member of parliament to commit their $4000 pay ­increase to a charity of their choice,” she told 2GB back in June. She said at the time she’d donate her pay rise to the Young Veterans Association in Queensland.We contacted Hanson’s office to see if she had made the donation, but did not get a reply.

Grand day

October 2 is a birthday shared by some truly great people. Mahatma Gandhi was born on this day in 1869, and it’s a public holiday in India. Comedian Groucho Marx and the rock star Sting were born on this day. And Strewth’s personal favourite, Richard III, was born on October 2, 1454.The remains of the king who was “so lamely and unfashionable / That dogs bark at me”, were found under a carpark in Leicester, England, 2012.