The Bottom Line

It’s not easy being the new leader of the Opposition after being turfed out of Government – just ask William Hague, Ian Duncan Smith and Michael Howard. Here, after briefly pushing his poll ratings into double figures, Liberal leader Brendan Nelson, this week slumped back into single figures.

What’s worse is that the only politician with a lower rating is the leader of the Liberal state opposition in Western Australia, Troy Buswell, who recently survived a leadership challenge after admitting sniffing a chair-seat recently vacated by a female staffer. But I’m sure that’s small consolation to Mr Nelson.

Long-lasting Shopping

Nothing to do with Australia but this what I love about new media. This arrived on my desk top in my daily news digest.

Not only are we able to read it in the first place, but it’s about someone who’s famous solely for being famous, and whose dubious celebrity has been created largely by the web. The dodgy translation actually adds to the story – “long-lasting shopping” and “rough talk” with the manager – and then, just when you might be losing interest, there’s the link Paris Hilton Enlarges Her Breast – Photos.

And if you ever doubted the wisdom of calling your daughter Paris Hilton, you’ll feel fully justified when you look at the links under Google Ads on the left-hand side. Wonderful.

Only in Australia

With the country currently riveted to the TV series Underbelly, about Melbourne gangsters killing each other in restaurants all over the city – it’s based on fact – it should come as no surprise to hear that a former underworld boss, Mick Gatto, is trying to track down the assets lost by “friends and associates” in the collapse of local stockbroker Opes Prime.

Mr Gatto was charged with killing Melbourne hitman Andrew “Benji” Venjamin and walked free after pleading self-defence. He now, rather improbably, runs an industrial mediation company, according to The Australian, and has set off to find Opes Prime’s funds in Singapore and the Middle East.

“I reckon it’s over $1bn and I have a good record of tracking things down,” he said. “You can run but you can’t hide, and you can quote me on that.”

Some days, I think: “Only in Australia.”

Biased or Bungled?

While the Conservatives line up to take
another pot at the BBC, the debate rumbles on about its colonial cousin, the ABC.

During the long years of John Howard’s rule, the Government’s view was that the ABC was one of the few remaining bastions of left-of-centre politics and almost everything it said or did was contaminated by the pernicious views of its staff and management. The response was to install “cultural warriors” on the board to set the broadcaster back on the path of truth.

If you did think the ABC was institutionally biased, then it seems things are getting better, though this article does point out that the ABC was prepared to give past Labor governments a shellacking as well.

What’s missing from the debate is the extent to which what’s regarded as bias is, in fact, bad or lazy journalism, or stems from a lack of resources. Biased journalism is, of course, bad journalism, but the former can often result, not from a partial view of the facts, but from the journalism not doing the job properly.

Personally, I’m far more concerned about the ABC telling us a few weeks ago that, despite the terrible economic situation in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe “remained confident” of winning the forthcoming election. In spite of more recent events, that still seems like a crass thing to say.

Thong Song

We’re back from New Zealand without falling into a pool of seething volcanic mud, suffering inverted intestines from bungee jumping, or being eaten by orcs. Leaving Australia for the first time since I arrived four years ago provided no great insights, though it is remarkable how differently the two countries turned out. One could possibly make some remarks about the quality of the gene pool of the original settlers, but one won’t.

I was glad that when we flew back into Coffs Harbour, after a week travelling around the splendours of the North Island, I still thought it was a beautiful place and Sandy Beach looked even better. It makes coming home much easier.

What did give me pause for thought was breaking my thongs (trans: flip-flops) on the way back from the beach the other day. I’d bought them when I first came out here and they were nicely worn into the shape of my feet. They’re ideal for going back and fore to the beach and are a ubiquitous article of footware. Throwing them out and buying a new pair seemed like a rite of passage, like condemning our first barbecue, which we also did recently.

Cutting Costs

We’re off to New Zealand tomorrow for a holiday on the North Island. It dawned on me that it will be the first time I’ve been outside Australia since I arrived here four years ago. Luckily, I’ve remembered I need my passport – as you can spend hours in planes here without leaving the country, I’ve got used to travelling without one.

I went for a pre-holiday haircut at my usual down-to-earth barber shop to find that Mike, who used to ply his trade in the basement of the BBC’s Bush House in London, had installed an innovation – surfing films on a flat-screen television – to counter the competition from a new “sports hairdresser” (what does that mean?) who has set up in the shopping centre.

I don’t think he needs to do anything else as there were four of us in the queue ooh-ing and ah-ing. There’s a man who knows his market.

Apology Text

Here's the text of the apology to the Stolen Generations delivered by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, this morning and his full speech to the House of Representatives.