Strewth: wild Swan

Wayne Swan has compared himself to Marlon Brando.

Wayne Swan has compared himself to Marlon Brando. Yes, Brando. The incoming Labor Party national president told the ACTU congress in Brisbane the actor was one of his inspirations in his increasingly radical old age. “In the movie The Wild One, Marlon Brando’s character is famously asked: ‘What are you rebelling against?’ Brando coolly responds — as only Brando can — ‘What’ve you got?’ ” he said. “You know, the older I get, the more I feel like Brando.” We assume Swan is not comparing his looks to those of one of Hollywood’s most famous hunks (though Brando’s beauty faded somewhat). But we still find it difficult imagining the former federal treasurer, who cut single mothers’ welfare payments and ran with then prime minister Kevin Rudd,“the economic conservative”, as The Wild One’s angry young man on a motorbike.

Wayne Swan, left, brings Marlon Brando to the 21st century.

Badham beats ban

Unionists have been trying to keep journalists out of parts of the congress, including their main dinner, but one writer was tweeting away from the exclusive event. Guardian Australia columnist Van Badham live-tweeted Bill Shorten’s address, despite the fact her fellow journos were banned. “If you’re undecided on Shorten, come see him speak in front of a union crowd. He just got a standing ovation at the #ACTUcongress18 dinner and he damn well deserved it,” she posted. Cue multiple replies telling Badham no one will ever know how good he is if media isn’t allowed to see. But Badham did not deliberately choose the unions over her fellow scribes. She says she didn’t know about the media ban until after the dinner, and that she disagrees with the ACTU’s moves to stifle free and fair reporting. “I literally didn’t know that they (reporters) weren’t there,” Badham told Strewth. “I left relatively early and I didn’t know anything about it until I saw some weird tweets on my phone.” Badham, a prominent member of journalists and creatives union the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, was at the event as a unionist and congress speaker, not a journo. MEAA has protested to the ACTU and Badham says she’s on the side of journos: “I’d refer to the MEAA’s statement. I always back in my union.”

Penguin freeze

Scott Morrison was in the Tasmanian town of Penguin yesterday but failed to appear with an actual penguin or make any penguin jokes in his press conference. Amateur.

Like old Times

Foreign editor Greg Sheridan has a ripper interview today with leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg.His father, William Rees-Mogg, was a British legend himself as editor of The Times. Our opinion editor, Alan Howe, worked for Papa Rees-Mogg at Britain’s paper of record: “I souvenired some of Rees-Mogg senior’s terse memos on the editorial staff noticeboard. One stated simply: ‘The Times is never staggered.’ Another: ‘A probe is a surgical instrument.’ Not that Rees-Mogg Sr was any dinosaur. In 1967 he took the radical stand of campaigning against the jail sentence given to Rolling Stone Mick Jagger for the possession of drugs.”

Mandela’s heroes

The world celebrated the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth yesterday. Most remembered that historic day in 1990 when he walked out of jail and led South Africa into an new, apartheid-free dawn. Strewth’s favourite Mandela moment is when he met the Spice Girls. Prince Charles brought Baby, Scary, Sporty, Baby and Posh Spice to Johannesburg in 1997. “You know, these are my heroes,” Mandela said in front of the Spice Girls. “It’s one of the greatest moments of my life.” In other news, the Spice Girls re-formed earlier this year. They will keep Mandela’s legacy alive.

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