Kick back in Canberra

IT could have been the game of the year yesterday when the NSW parliamentary press gallery was due to have its annual soccer match in Sydney's Domain.

IT could have been the game of the year yesterday when the NSW parliamentary press gallery was due to have its annual soccer match in Sydney's Domain.

Best of all, it was rumoured the pollies' team was going to feature John Della Bosca -- who resigned recently as state health minister after revelations about his extramarital adventures -- and his wife, federal Labor backbencher and anger-management course graduate Belinda Neal, together on one field. We trembled at the potential for drama, for passion, for accidental kicks in the shins. Suddenly, that whole concept of sport as a metaphor for life made sense. Sadly, the diabolical weather put paid to the match and Neal instead found herself in Canberra, handing a Dorothy Dixer to Lindsay Tanner. The look of disappointment on her face spoke for us all. Better luck next Monday.

Burke and grills

IS Tony Burke morphing into the Sam Kekovich of Australian politics? The federal Agriculture Minister and noted meat pusher last night hosted the annual Parliament House Backyard Barbecue to "showcase Australia's $16.5 billion red meat industry". This included enough lamb, goat (!) and beef to see out the apocalypse, and a masterclass by chef David Carew on how to cook the perfect steak. Burke's office told Strewth it would be correct to characterise Burke -- who once suggested People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activists mounting a particularly lame campaign might not be getting enough protein in their diets -- as an enthusiastic carnivore.

Rhys heightens tone

ACTOR Rhys Muldoon is as much at home playing Tony Blair on stage as he is getting down with Jemima and the gang on Play School. But we suspect it's the skills he has picked up as a children's TV host that helped most yesterday as he twittered at question time in federal parliament. He started off with inclusive sentiments -- "Turns out everyone thinks people smugglers are bad. Will no one stand up for this misunderstood minority?" -- before settling on a more animal-based theme: "(Stephen) Smith's reasonable tone is quite calming. It's like watching someone calmly shave a porcupine." Also: "Wilson Tuckey, as red as a baboon's bum, keeps erupting. It's like when you put a drop of aftershave on a greyhound's bum hole." Now there's a play activity we'd like to see on Play School.

Cabbage patch

CONGRATULATIONS to Norfolk Island for the launch of its new brand campaign yesterday. Despite the island being the only place Strewth knows where inhabitants are listed in the phonebook by their nicknames, we were terrified the campaign might turn out to be yet another bunch of ads focusing on the not-so-rare commodities of sun and sand (with perhaps a pinch of Bounty mutiny and Colleen McCullough thrown in for good measure). So we were as relieved as we were pleased to see that one of the primary images being used to lure visitors is an islander posing with acabbage the size of a pygmy hippo.

Irregular Rudd

AFTER accusations he's sounding like his predecessor, is Kevin Rudd backing away from the term illegal immigrants? Spot the difference in this offering yesterday: "Furthermore, since 1999 Australian governments have provided $34.7 million to support humanitarian assistance in Indonesia, including accommodation, food and medical assistance for irregular migrants to Indonesia intercepted en route to Australia."

More power to them

WHEN it comes to making a mark in the law, the female silks class of 1997 is hard to beat. Twelve years ago, two women in Victoria, Marilyn Warren and Diana Bryant, and two women in NSW, Virginia Bell and Anna Katzmann, were given the right to add SC to their names. Any women being recognised for their legal talents was a big deal then, and sadly still is, but they have justified the professional tick from their peers. Katzmann is serving president of the NSW Bar Association and on Friday was appointed a judge of the Federal Court. Bell is Justice Bell of the High Court and only the fourth woman to serve on our highest court. Warren is Chief Justice of Victoria and Bryant is Chief Justice of the Family Court. There is no punchline, but we thought it worth sharing.