Strewth: rabbit v radio

A rabbit has attempted to sabotage Anzac Day commemorations in France.

Musician and journalist Dick Hughes in 1994.

A rabbit has attempted to sabotage Anzac Day commemorations in France. Sydney radio station 2GB’s shock jock Chris Smith was in Villers-Bretonneux yesterday, broadcasting from the site of the new Sir John Monash Centre. The crew had arrived at 2am to check out the site but their internet connection just was not working. There was no explanation and no Aussie NBN to blame. It looked as if the show might be cancelled. Luckily, a back-up was found, but the question remained — who had tried to kill The Chris Smith Show? It was a bunny. A bunny had chewed through the cable. “As a Rabbitohs supporter I feel highly offended and would hope that the French wildlife give us a bit more respect,” Smith told Strewth. “After all, it is Anzac Day!” We’re told the French technicians were embarrassed, as they’d even built a “rabbit-proof fence” around the cables. Someone getting through French defences? Quelle surprise.

Voter scandal

A shocking case of possible voting fraud has been unearthed in Queensland. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was reading to kids at Nundah Primary School when a young man, aged seven, came up to her and said, “I voted for you!” Palaszczuk responded, “I think you’re a bit young.” “No, no, no, I did,” the child replied. Queenslanders cannot vote until they are 18. We hope Palaszczuk launches a royal commission into this young voting vandal. How many elections has he, and other seven-year-olds, tampered with?

Hubbies on staff

Barnaby Joyce’s proposal to allow politicians to hire family members hasn’t got a lot of support but Tanya Plibersek is definitely thinking about it. “I’d love my husband to take instruction from me,” federal Labor’s deputy leader joked on ABC Brisbane. Of course, Plibersek went on to say Joyce’s idea was a total conflict-of-interest minefield and a very bad idea. “If the partner is not doing their job properly, who do the other staff complain to? They can’t complain to the boss,” she says. But we still reckon Plibersek would enjoy seeing her high-flying public servant husband Michael Coutts-Trotter get her coffee and collect her suits from the drycleaners.

Shorten’s services

Strewth made fun of Dan Tehan onSky News yesterday when he said Bill Shorten was “finance minister” in 2013 (it was Penny Wong). Perhaps he meant Shorten was financial services minister? Shorten was Julia Gillard’s point man on the likes of AMP from September 2010 to June 2013. Tehan is right in that case; Shorten’s record on financial services is something we all should be taking an interest in.

RIP Dick Hughes

Musician and journalist Dick Hughes died on Friday at the age of 86. While most obituaries have focused on Hughes’s great contribution to Australian jazz, he also had ink in his veins. He followed in the footsteps of his legendary father, Richard Hughes, who was the first man to interview Russian spies Kim Philby and Donald Maclean, and inspired characters in Ian Fleming and John Le Carre novels. Hughes made his name as a journalist at the ABC and interviewed everyone from Louis Armstrong to Billie Holiday. He worked for News Corp Australia, this august organ’s publisher, for 25 years from 1966 to 1991. News Corp stalwart and Daily Telegraph columnist Piers Akerman told Strewth that Hughes Jr was part of the “golden age” of Australian journalism. “He had a phenomenal memory for facts,” he says. “No matter what day it was, Dick could tell you what happened 10, 20, 200 years ago on that same date.” Hughes worked as a subeditor for years on The Australian,where he became famous for his great headlines, his head for facts (he never needed any reference books) and his love of lexicographic quirks. “He had a passion for words you could photograph,” Akerman says. “He was the epitome of a golden era of subeditors.” Hughes may have called journalism “the C major of this life” in one interview, but he was a newspaper man through and through.

Netflix know-how

Unearthed Hansard documents show Eric Abetz doesn’t get how Netflix works. The Liberal senator was inquiring about deals between the streaming giant and the ABC. “Is it (Netflix) a user-pays system?” Abetz asked the ABC on February 27. “Yes,” the broadcaster replied on April 9. He clearly is not a fan of The Crown.

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