Zip it

HE may have refrained from shaking sauce bottles, but that doesn't mean Kevin Rudd has stepped back from his ambitious program to reshape the language in his own image.

HE may have refrained from shaking sauce bottles, but that doesn't mean Kevin Rudd has stepped back from his ambitious program to reshape the language in his own image.

This effort from Copenhagen yesterday isn't one of his best efforts, but nevertheless is a neatly Kev way to wrap up a presser: "This is a big challenge, it's a difficult challenge, and going into the holiday season it's one which lots of mums and dads across the country are very concerned about. Having said that, I'm going to zip." Going to zip? Is Strewth being dense (we're not ruling out the possibility), or is this truly a case of something misbegotten in the state of Denmark? A quick survey around Strewth central revealed bafflement among two out of three respondents, but it may catch on. But if only that zip line had followed on from Kev's accusation that the opposition was "simply shooting from the hip, shooting from the lip", it could have become an instant classic.

Holy seer

ONE of the topics canvassed during Rudd's presser was the quite possibly impending canonisation of Mary MacKillop, which is very exciting. Our ambassador to the Holy See, Tim Fischer, who is settling in behind his desk in Rome today after a trip to Australia, told Strewth he thinks it's "looking good". But something far more exotic is going on in the background according to outlets such as AAP, which are reporting on the likelihood of MacKillop's cannonisation, a process we can only assume involves her mortal remains being stuffed inside a large artillery piece and fired across the parapets. Call us unadventurous, but we rather hope it doesn't eventuate.

Man smart, woman smarter

QUEENSLAND luminaries boast of the place being ahead of world's best practice in sexual equality, but the state's first female Premier, Anna Bligh, has found that traditional role models still rule in the Torres Strait. Bligh visited remote Warraber Island yesterday and was greeted with a traditional dance, a grass broom and a basket. The Premier was told the broom was for her to do the housekeeping while the basket was for her husband to collect food. As luck would have it, one of the senior bureaucrats accompanying Bligh was indeed her husband Greg Withers, the state's climate change tsar. Strewth is now gripped by the image of Withers being pushed out the door and being told in no uncertain terms to not even contemplate coming home with an empty basket.

Among the needy

OUR colleague Stuart Rintoul's article the other day about Tony Abbott's climate change epiphany in the Victorian town of Beaufort in September was, apart from everything else, a reminder of how complete Abbott's sense of compassion is. It was in Beaufort, shortly after describing climate change science as crap, that the man destined to lead the political party that prides itself on the superiority of its economic management, went to stay as a guest of former Kennett government minister Roger Pescott. Pescott's managed investment scheme group Environinvest collapsed in September 2008 owing creditors about $100 million, including $46m to the Commonwealth Bank and about $33m to Adelaide Bank, leaving Pescott entangled in a liquidation action. But then again, Pescott is disliked by Jeff Kennett, which may or may not have counted in his favour.

Earth mother

AMONG the 114 names listed under Australia's team at Copenhagen, there's one name that really stands out -- Gaia Puleston. Puleston is a political adviser who toils for Penny Wong and the Department of Climate Change. We're sure it didn't play any role in her landing the gig, but it must be helpful, working in that field, to share a name with James Lovelock's theory that the earth is one, big complex entity.

Tiger in court

A SHANE Warne Foundation spokeswoman has assured Strewth that contrary to rumours, they're not bringing out any members of the Tiger Woods Foundation to watch the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. But you can't believe us for hoping it was true: Tiger fever is everywhere. Take this odd segue from the NSW Supreme Court yesterday, where judge Anthony Whealy was presiding over the pre-sentencing hearing of five men convicted of conspiring to plan a terrorist act. When the legal precedent set by enigmatically named case The Queen v Ms X was raised, Whealy offered this aside from the bench: "It has a wonderful ring to it, doesn't it, The Queen against Ms X. I almost think it has something to do with Tiger Woods." Anyone for tenuous?

Horror statistic

AS superstar crooner Julio Iglesias prepares to take the nation by storm early next year (Strewth's mother has been all but levitating with excitement for a fortnight now), his public relations machine has hit us with this terrifying statistic: "Every 30 seconds one of his songs is played on a radio station somewhere in the world."

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