Wolverine pack grows in Canberra

Eric Abetz nails it.

So, y’all know about the secret club formed in Canberra earlier this year, the Wolverines? Strewth’s regular columnist, Alice Workman, uncovered its existence. Members include Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, and you can tell who’s in — and who’s out — because members get to put a sticker of four claw marks on a clear background in their office windows. It’s all good fun, with a serious mission: they’re concerned about China, in particular the way it seeks to expand its influence across the globe. Anyway, they’ve got a new member, and it’s Eric Abetz, who told Strewth on his initiation: “Just as a wolverine ferociously defends itself from much larger and more powerful foes, I’m ready to defend Australia’s interests with my Wolverine colleagues.”

More cloak than dagger

Canberra has a bit of a tradition of secret clubs. A search through Trove reveals that a “secret society” known as “the Vigilantes of Canberra” was active in the 1930s. A newspaper report of its activities said: “The names of its members are kept secret to prevent any possible victimisation, and they meet at various secret meeting places”, which is what you had to do before WhatsApp — that’s how the Wolverines talk to each other. And while it sounds all cloak and dagger, like all things Canberra, it was in actuality incredibly boring. They wanted their own parliament, too much government in the capital never being enough.

Next order of business

In any case, one of the first orders of business when the Wolverines next meet surely will be the Australian now in clear and present danger of dying in custody: the one-time Blue Heelers actor Karm (formerly Craig) Gilespie, who is accused of drug trafficking, and has been sentenced to death in China.

Does his life matter? We await the protest.

Following to the letter

Speaking of protests, #Black Lives Matter became #BlackTransLivesMatter in Boston last weekend, so that’s #BTLM, which is fine, as long as it’s not #BLT, because in Australia that means something else entirely.

Many happy retweets

Donald Trump supporters celebrated the US President’s birthday on Sunday with caravans, flotillas and parades throughout his adopted home state of Florida. But many Twitter users used the day to honour former president Barack Obama, because, you guess it, “All Birthdays Matter!” Altogether, it’s enough to make you wish for a return to the debate about climate change.

Downward momentum

Much has been made of the manner in which Trump descended a ramp at West Point last weekend (slowly; he’s now 74 years old). The President has defended his careful progress, saying: “The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is ‘fall’ for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!” We’re going to analyse how he walks downhill now? That’s a slippery slope.

Declaring on 100

Speaking of ageing, the world’s oldest first-class cricketer, Vasant Naisadrai Raiji, who reached his century on Australia Day, has completed his innings, having told family he was “tired and ready to go”. Raiji leaves behind his 94-year-old wife Panna and two daughters, including Renuka, who lives in Perth. Besides being a player, he was a writer, whose books include Victor Trumper: The Beau Ideal of a Cricketer.

Out of contact

Disgraced Labor MP Adem Somyurek got fired on Monday, making him the first politician in a while not to “step down to spend more time with my family”, which is just as well since the names in his contact book? Mostly fake! He did get one thing right in the leaked tapes when he said Young Labor staff members were “patronising and annoying”. And yes, Young Liberals are worse.

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