Liberal termites refuse to be exterminated

Nuclear weapons can’t kill cockroaches and it seems the Liberal Right can’t kill termites.

Malcolm Turnbull with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. Picture: Instagram

Nuclear weapons can’t kill cockroaches and it seems the Liberal right can’t kill termites. The Australian’s Samantha Hutchinson was toiling at the Victorian Liberals’ biannual state council at the weekend, and she found the state’s Liberal left is not dead yet. Readers may remember Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar labelling progressives in his party as “termites” in a 2016 speech, leaked a few weeks back. Well, it’s become a rallying cry for some in the party (think Hillary Clinton and “deplorables”). Ex-Victorian Liberal vice-president Greg Hannan told supporters at a South Melbourne event last Tuesday: “My name is Greg Hannan and I’m a termite.” Hannan was thrashed by Michael Kroger in the race for the state party presidency at the weekend, and the left lost most of its positions. But Strewth is told several progressive Libs called themselves “termites” at the party get-together. And some were even wearing “this is what a unionist looks like” T-shirts under their nice shirts. Kroger, Sukkar and co were certainly the winners at the weekend but they have not seen the last of the termites. Liberal leader Matthew Guy really doesn’t need a bug problem as he prepares for November’s Victorian election.

Review redux

The Gonski review, or should we say the second Gonski review, has recommended another review. Not by David Gonski though. The long-awaited report into Aussie schools, covered by our Rebecca Urban today, recommends the government begin a new study of the national curriculum in Years 11 and 12. Tony Abbott’s government initiated a big curriculum review back in 2014 (four years ago). Cities will crumble, seas will dry up, people will vanish from the face of the earth — but Australian education bureaucrats will still be here, holding bloody reviews.

Mamma mia

The world was shocked last Friday to see bitter enemies together for the first time in years. Yes, Swedish pop gods ABBA have reformed. It was a chance for Malcolm Turnbull to show his extremely limited knowledge of, and interest in, pop culture. “Can I tell you — we have all got favourite ABBA songs but it’s the classic, it’s hard to beat Dancing Queen, isn’t it?” he said on Saturday. First of all, such a boring choice. Secondly, the best ABBA song is obviously Knowing Me, Knowing You (uh huhhhh).

Bangladeshi queens

Turnbull met Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Sydney at the weekend. Hasina is the Muslim world’s only female head of government. Despite the very low number of women in Bangladesh’s parliament, the national leadership has been a tussle between Hasina and her bitter, female, rival Khaleda Zia. The two have been swapping the prime minister’s role since 1991 with the odd military coup here and there. Zia is serving a five-year jail term for corruption but says politics are behind her conviction (Zia now can’t run against Hasina in this year’s election). Hasina was out of office in 2007 and even faced murder charges. Basically it’s an Asian version ofMary, Queen of Scotsv Elizabeth I. But nobody’s lost their head yet.

Hughes on the blower

We’ve been inundated with stories about journalist, pianist and friend Dick Hughes, who died last week. But our favourite is from daughter Stephanie: “Dick would ring and say, ‘Stephanie, I’m going to read you a paragraph. I want you to find the mistakes and correct them.’ Nine out of 10 times I’d be right, to which he’d respond: ‘RIGHT, I’m going to tell that sub editor my 10-year-old daughter subbed him! Thank you, Tootle Boots.’ ” Hughes’ funeral will be at noon at Rose Bay’s St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church on Wednesday.

Peninsula past

The Australian’s Bruce Loudon brought this clipping from The New York Times to Strewth’s attention: “Leaders of North and South Korea signed a treaty of reconciliation and non-aggression this morning, renouncing armed force against each other and saying that they would formally bring the Korean War to an end ... years after the fighting ceased.” When was it written? December 13, 1991. A sad omen of things to come perhaps

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