Best
practice workplace. How wooden-headed are our federal pols and the Department
of Parliamentary Services? Parliament House is finally set to get a childcare
centre, Patricia Karvelas reports in The Australian today,
but “politicians will be given priority access over other staff to the ten
places available”. Ten places. In building where 3,000 people work during
sitting weeks. Work long hours. With pollies coming first. How many angles is
that wrong on? So much for setting an example as a best practice workplace.

Climbing
the Hill. Federal Liberal Party vice president Corey Bernardi and SA VP Simon
Birmingham square off tonight in the competition to replace Robert Hill in the
Senate. Here’s hoping the lads are practising their speeches and their
Q&As, as it looks like a very close contest.

First
family. Meet The Travelling Wortleys – South Australian Labor Senator Dana and
hubby Russell, a newly elected Legislative Councillor. They were seen boarding
a flight to Canberra last week. That’s fine,
one might argue, but the couple had their 11-year-old son in business class
with them. Who’s paying the kid’s fare: them or the state or the federal
taxpayer?

Queensland
Liberal power plays. A blow to the Klan Khemlani, with local copper Glen Kiddle
convincingly defeating their kandidate for the state seat of Ashgrove, being
vacated by retiring Labor member and former Speaker Jim Fouras. Word is that
Kiddle was a cert after gaining the support of local powerbroker Ruth Finnigan.
Finnigan is known as a key supporter of Senator George Brandis, but once backed
his colleague Santo Santoro. The conservative parties are on the move up north
as Peter Beattie’s government lurches from crisis to crisis. Now is the time
for positioning. The result is not only being seen as Khemlani losing his grip
on certain parts of his electorate – but Brandis flexing his muscles. He’s got
to compensate for being left on the backbench somehow.

Legal
eagles. Following yesterday’s piece on Slater & Gordon and outspoken legal
eagle Maurice May, we’ve noticed there’s someone by the same name in the Crikey archive as a delegate for NSW to the 2004 ALP National Conference 2004. They wouldn’t
be related, would they?

Sledging in
the House. Homophobia in Victoria and “calculated sexism” in the West?
And to think that we believed Liberal state MPs were well behaved nice
middle-class types.


Recipe of the Day. Not exactly a political recipe today, but hey it’s Friday. With the Apple wars
taking off, there’s bound to be plenty of pulp flying. Catch a little
and transform it into crumpets – or a delightful frappe – with recipes from the Blue Wiggle.