Marshals fallen from the skies? Putting armed air marshals on flights was a key security measure after the 9/11 attacks. But how many are still on board in Australia? Perhaps none, one tipster suggests. We’re investigating, so let us know if you’ve heard anything.

Rinehart’s life, by Ferguson. We speculated on Monday that Gina Rinehart’s very private life could soon be exposed by a tell-all biography. Well step forward Adele Ferguson — The Sydney Morning Herald business writer is working on a tome with publisher Pan Macmillan, she’s confirmed to The Power Index. “She’s Australia’s richest person and people don’t know all that much about her. It will be a really interesting,” Ferguson told The Power Index editor Angela Priestley, while remaining tight-lipped on details.

In death, the minister excelled. Did an adviser to a prominent NSW minister really send out a group email after Margaret Olley’s state memorial service yesterday saying the event had been a “great success for the minister”?

Executive salaries aren’t Human. The 45,000 Department of Human Services staff have not yet had a chance to vote on the proposed agreement they say will cut conditions and offer a meagre pay rise, but apparently their Senior Executive Service isnt waiting around. An insider reports: “DHS SES staff have just got themselves a very nice deal, which retains their 23 days of recreational leave and offers a hefty pay rise. Who said it isn’t good at the top?”

Not-so-sad to see Churchill go. Outgoing Age CEO Don Churchill’s invitation to farewell drinks on Friday evening to celebrate his “stellar career” has apparently fallen on deaf ears. Senior Age hacks are shunning the event and cartoonists have refused to pen a farewell card for Churchill, who they blame for the mass sacking of subeditors. Meanwhile, we hear Churchill has been lobbying hard for ad sales manager David Hoath — at the helm during The Age’s bleeding of revenues — to take over as CEO when he leaves Media House next week.

Meanwhile, Age spies tell us they will stop work at 4pm this afternoon to vote on Fairfax’s current pay offer. “Not sure what the outcome will be,” says one staffer.

Bayer, the CSIRO and the climate. CarbonKids is an “education program” run with CSIRO and Bayer that focuses on climate change and sustainability. The multinational is paying for the project. As one reader asks, why?