ABC Presenter Featured Speaker at $85 a Head ALP Branch Dinner

Prominent ABC current affairs presenter and editor, Stan Grant, is the featured speaker at an $85 a head dinner scheduled for April, co-hosted by a branch of the NSW ALP, to honour former Labor leader, H V Evatt.

The speaking engagement has the potential to ignite controversy akin to that caused by former Trade Union Royal Commissioner Dyson Heydon agreeing to deliver a lecture for a Liberal Party event in 2015 to honour Evatt’s contemporary and rival, Sir Garfield Barwick. In the face of widespread criticism, Heydon eventually withdrew from the Lecture, and later ruled against an application that he stand down from the Royal Commission.

1999 Referendum Campaign: How Was the Yes/No Case Money Spent?

There are reports that the Government will allocate $7.5 million to each of the “yes” and “no” cases in a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, should such a proposal come to pass. This matches in dollar terms the amounts allocated to the respective cases in the 1999 referendum on a republic, but to replicate the value of the 1999 campaign funds in 2016 terms would require $11.9 million for each side. Or put another way, the amount is equivalent to giving the respective cases $4.73 million each in 1999.

WTF Greg Pearce?

Much merriment has been had over the weekend with Rebekah Brook’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry that British Prime Minister David Cameron was under the misapprehension that the textspeak “LOL” meant “Lots of Love”, not “Laugh out Loud”.

However, one might assume that not even Cameron would be gormless enough in PMQs to quote anyone encumbered with the initials “WTF”. But such a personage was given the honour of a citation in Losers Lounge this past week.

My Stella Effort – End of Year Reviews and Previews

For the introduction to these posts, start here

The Weekend Australian gave over 7 pages over two weekends to their Best of 2011 nominations.

My Stella Effort – Short Reviews

For the introduction to these posts see here.

Here I collate the short reviews in the SMH and The Age. Each week there are four short reviews (usually with one highlighted as “Pick of the Week”).

Community Services Bears Brunt of Staff Numbers

After years of crisis and reform, just what priority is the O’Farrell Government going to give to Family and Community Services?

The most astonishing feature of the staff allocations by far has the Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Women, Pru Goward, with the smallest office with only 4.4 staff positions. This is made up of a Chief of Staff, an advisor and 2.4 researchers/advisors at the lower end of the grade scale.

The Muddle Headed Puff Piece

Sure, any attempt to encourage kids to read is most welcome. Sure, the Premier’s Reading Challenege is a great way to do this.

Heck, The Muddle Headed Wombat is one of my cherished memories of childhood.

But to present this as news, even in the Sunday papers?