Reds under G20 bed

WAYNE Swan and Lindsay Tanner may have been getting stuck into Joe Hockey for tweeting during question time, but after the entertainment provided in the House of Reps yesterday, they may start urging him to continue.

WAYNE Swan and Lindsay Tanner may have been getting stuck into Joe Hockey for tweeting during question time, but after the entertainment provided in the House of Reps yesterday, they may start urging him to continue.

The mere act of reading aloud one of Kilimanjaro Joe's tweets ("Listening to Swan on the G20 and I am wondering how many finance ministers he met are left-wing") caused a rogue glee circuit to corrupt Kevin Rudd's normal programming. The PM reeled off a list of G20 lefties, including Nicolas Sarkozy "the socialist", Silvio Berlusconi "the Bolshevik", Angela Merkel "the Menshevik", and those notorious pinkos, George W. Bush and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Rudd then used a Hockey comment about Barack Obama to segue down memory lane to John Howard's suggestion that Obama's victory would be a triumph for al-Qa'ida; "What is it about the Liberals and Obama?" Rudd pondered. Christopher Pyne made a valiant attempt to stem the mirth torrent, only to be batted aside by Speaker Harry Jenkins. No, it took a stronger, greyer force than Pyne to douse the fire. Arise Nationals leader Warren Truss, whereupon the party ended.

Stoves barely cold

GOOD to see New Idea in a historically reflective mood. Accompanying a set of photos of finalists in a certain, successful cooking show that feels like it ended barely more than a few minutes ago, New Idea asks: "MasterChef: Where are they now?" Barely out the TV studio door, we would have thought.

Brendan's final fling

NOW in the final spasms of the twilight of his political career, Brendan Nelson is keeping busy, not least by writing a glowing reference for his adviser Simon Berger, who is having a tilt at preselection for Bradfield and using the 600-word plug from the boss as his Facebook status. The former opposition leader is also preparing for his farewell shindig and, going by the invitation, it threatens to be a meagre affair. Mesmerisingly awful font aside, there's a quiet pathos permeating every line: "We would be honoured if you would join us at a dinner in an informal setting (understatement alert!) to farewell a friend and colleague and celebrate his significant contribution. When: Monday September 14, 2009. Where: Holder Room, next to Members' Dining Room (meals can be taken from the Members' Dining Room). Time: 6pm to 8pm. Cost: Split Charge." Dammit, this is Guitar Slingin' Nelson! Something must be done. Not necessarily a medieval-style night of minstrels and debauchery (though, come to think of it ...), but surely something better can be arranged.

Creatures of the night

SOUTH Australia's parliament was thrown into disarray late on Wednesday night after the Rann government stuffed up a vote on its own legislation because too many of its MPs were out at functions. A flurry of midnight phone calls saw MPs from both sides descend on parliament as a second vote was hastily arranged. A contrite Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who introduced the bill that was eventually passed, spent yesterday commenting not on the error, but on the late-night attire of Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond, who rushed in to parliament from her Adelaide Hills home wearing what he described as a combination of a pyjama top and tracksuit pants. "She looked quite comely," he noted, raising eyebrows and drawing a stern denial from Redmond that she was wearing jim-jams. On the plus side, no one arrived from a toga party.

Best ask the missus

THE adventures of reader Peter Cowan, who says the NRMA denied him information about his partner's car insurance when he let slip they weren't actually wed (Strewth, Wednesday), have prompted NRMA corporate affairs manager Andrew Tubb to write: "Anyone can access a policy, or act on behalf of a policyholder, where we have the policyholder's permission. A customer's marital status is irrelevant. In this case Mr Cowan would absolutely be able to make inquiries of his partner's policy had our customer indicated their consent. We're sorry if incorrect information was provided."