A croc for Kevin

THAT vivacious daily journal of renown, the Northern Territory News, has responded to Kevin Rudd's disappointment.

THAT vivacious daily journal of renown, the Northern Territory News, has responded to the disappointment Kevin Rudd expressed in Darwin on Friday that the paper had not carried a front-page picture of a crocodile- for which the paper has a well-deserved reputation. Instead, the NT News had saved its customary croc pic for page three, prompting Rudd to accuse editor Julian Ricci of lowering his standards. Suitably chastised, the Sunday Territorian yesterday ran a front-page photograph by Brett "Double Haul" Warren of a huge croc swimming off with a fat feral pig in its mighty jaws. Rudd's speech had been the inspiration for publishing the pic so "we thought we'd make his Sunday", the paper added in its caption. In a free plug of immeasurable proportions (a plug repeated by Strewth at the weekend and again today, in case you missed it), Rudd told his audience of distinguished territorians that the NT News was "the single most popular newspaper in the office of the Prime Minister of Australia".

Budgie bashers

IS it un-Australian to give Tony Abbott the title Un-Australian of the Year? Strewth would argue Abbott is the genuine article, a bloke who is as dinki-di as it's possible to be without singing True Blue while sitting on Gundagai's flaming tucker box and wearing a dirty blue singlet. Yet Zoo Weekly magazine thinks Abbott was un-Australian for wearing Speedos at the beach. The mag reckons he tarnished the image of the national cossie. The truth is, Abbott gave cartoonists a goldmine of material that could last for years. You wouldn't call that un-Australian, would you? Zoo Weekly bolsters its ridiculous award by quoting Kevin Rudd as saying he'd vote for boardies rather than budgie smugglers. Well, he would, wouldn't he? Abbott has the physique of a surf lifesaver and Rudd does not.

Switched off

IT might not have saved a significant amount of energy, but WWF Australia's Earth Hour publicity wheeze has spread from Sydney like a contagious disease: 250 cities have decided to turn off the lights for an hour this year. But WWF is not satisfied: chief executive Greg Bourne wants at least 4000 to sign up before the darkest hour in March. Bourne appears to want the entire economy to seize up. "Switching off your lights is a great first step, but your true environmental impact is much bigger than just your energy bill. Each individual's environmental impact - or environmental footprint - is made up of things such as the food you eat, the transport and housing you choose." Starvation hour, perhaps?

Rudd on board

NSW's nominee for Australian of the Year, environmentalist Jon Dee, has had a rough week culminating in tears while being interviewed by The Sunday Telegraph's Jennifer Sexton. Apparently, Dee thinks he's blown his chances over a failure to disclose payments from commercial sponsors. To the rescue comes Kevin Rudd with a character reference in Brisbane. "This year's NSW finalist . . . is a man who has worked hard to encourage more environmentally responsible practices in the community. Environmental campaigner Jon Dee has inspired millions of Australians to make positive environmental and social change. As co-founder of Planet Ark, Jon has successfully shown people and businesses how they can reduce their impact on the environment. He has also been a driving force . . . to phase out plastic bags and incandescent light globes." Sounds like he's still in with a chance.

Name jobs

NOMINATIVE determinism is when a person's name somehow points to a particular occupation. For instance, Bernie Madoff made off with other people's money. The chief leader writer at The Times, Daniel Finkelstein, has produced a fine list of such links. At No 1 is Theodore Hee - T. Hee was responsible for the early comic storylines for Walt Disney. Then there's the wonderful Cardinal Jaime Sin, a Catholic archbishop from The Philippines; Patty Turner, wife of McDonald's chief executive Frank Turner; and Usain Bolt is an obvious one. But Finkelstein can't find space for William Wordsworth, the poet, Margaret Court, the tennis champion, or Larry Speakes, a White House spokesman.

Quick bites

FRENCH foodies are lamenting the passing of the days when presidents and their guests would stuff themselves senseless. Our man in Paris reports that Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni are on meagre rations and expect their guests to leave the palace feeling they've been dudded by lean cuisine. The decline in state banquets is highlighted in an exhibition organised by Maxim's that displays menus from the good old days. For example in 1888, president Sadi Carnot was served 14 courses, including foie gras, sole, deer cutlets, beef filet, turkey stuffed with truffles, lobster and ice cream, washed down with sherry, four wines, champagne and liqueurs. Pierre-Andre Helene, the curator of the menu exhibition, says: "By the end of the meal, everyone was completely out of action." When President Demetris Christofias of Cyprus visited last year, there was so little alcohol that Helene has left the menu out of the exhibition. "In the old days, the banquets lasted four hours. Today, it's all over in 40 minutes."