Bye-bye curious

One of life’s constants these days is rumours Liberal MP Craig Kelly is pondering leaving his party.

Liberal member for Hughes Craig Kelly wearing a Robert Menzies T-shirt at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, November 29, 2018. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

One of life’s constants these days is rumours Liberal MP Craig Kelly is pondering leaving his party — a case of being bye-bye curious, if you will. Kelly’s answer to the latest flurry of departure frisson was to lob at Parliament House yesterday in a T-shirt emblazoned with a portrait of Robert Menzies, embracing the spirit that it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that Ming. With his jolly features somehow grown more cherubic in the presence of the founding father, the member for Hughes gadded about the seat of power spreading good cheer. Inevitably, Kelly got together for a photo with Tony Abbott, who tweeted it out with the sentiment, “Always good to be with a real Liberal!”. On the wall behind them is a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II. Between Menzies and Her Majesty, it’s a solid reminder of what stable leadership looks like. Among the images captured of this sartorial statement yesterday is this close-up from our esteemed colleague Gary Ramage, Kelly touching the sunlight, Ming peering out from between lapels. It’s what he would have wanted.

Craig Kelly wears a t-shirt featuring Sir Robert Menzies. Photo: Gary Ramage

Wild thing

Speaking of artworks, Bob Katter went on Sky News to deliver another of his performances. Part way through, he turned to host Tom Connell and said, “I am a very mad, crazy, wild person.” Connell (who previously has experienced this crazy little thing called Bob wielding a shovel on air and telling him “you need a big hiding”) was not the picture of someone seeking confirmation. For good measure, Connell later had on Patrick Gorman. Gorman is now the member for Perth but he was Kevin Rudd’s right-hand man in 2013. Connell invited Gorman to have a flashback to those carnage-rich days when he had a front-row seat. To Gorman’s credit, he neither twitched nor started sweating bullets.

Accentuate the positive

A dose of pre-G20 optimism. Journo: “What is the message that you would send your … colleagues, about loyalty while you’re away?”

Scott Morrison: “What all of my team are talking about and as we have been all this week and as I will continue to from this day all the way to the next election, and that is a strong economy is what guarantees the essentials that Australians rely on …” (And then, many words later) “What I’m saying is, is that we’re putting down a budget next year. That’s what we’re focused on.”

Journo: “With respect you’re not answering the question.”

Heart on his sleeves

Greens senator Larissa Waters arrived in the upper house with “Stop Adani” earrings on. The Coalition’s Ian Macdonald asked Senate president Scott Ryan if she could wear those, could he wear his hi-vis gear? It’s nice to see he hasn’t let go of his dream, despite the best efforts of then Liberal senator Bill Heffernan the time he wore a Minerals Council of Australia hi-vis vest emblazoned with the slogan “Australians for Coal”. As Strewth reported at the time on the in-family discipline that followed: “This did it for Heffernan, who appeared in a puff of fury in The Australian’s press gallery office, pointing crossly at the TV and declaring it was all ‘highly improper’ … Heff subsequently materialised in the Senate and reiterated his thoughts about promotional clobber. And he certainly blew a head gasket at his colleague: ‘I support the mining industry too, but … it sets a precedent. Next thing we’ll have, you know, Bill Heffernan: Friend of Marijuana, Friend of Coca-Cola, without my permission! I have told the Minerals and Mining Council to shove this, and everyone else should too.’ ” Perhaps the Senate could have a sort of mufti day once in a while.

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