From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours …

Hospital pass. We hope the chairman of the Australian Rugby Union Cameron Clyne is prepared for a hostile reception when he rocks up to Parliament House tonight. Clyne will face up to a Senate inquiry into the decision by the ARU to reduce the number of Super Rugby teams in Australia — specifically the decision to axe the Perth-based Western Force. The inquiry is chaired by WA Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, and the other members of the committee are Labor’s Linda Reynolds and Liberal Dean Smith — both also from WA. ARU chief Bill Pulver has already fronted up, and now it is the chairman’s turn. Last week the committee heard from the WA Sports Minister Michael Murray, who said that the Victorian government and the ARU had funnelled significant funds into the Melbourne Rebels, which managed to keep its spot in the competition. 

Light green tax. One of the staples of Coalition, tabloid and talkback rhetoric for some time now has been to blame “green schemes” for surging electricity prices. Rather problematically, today’s ACCC report on retail electricity pricing provides some contest for those claims. The average consumer’s retail electricity bill in 2015-16, the ACCC says, was $1524. And what component of that was due to the dreaded “green tape”? A whopping 7%, or $106 a year. Or $2 a week — far below the network costs and wholesale costs that have been the big drivers of the nosebleed bills we’ve all been getting in recent years. Environmental costs also rose at a slower rate than network costs or retail costs over the eight years to 2016. But we don’t expect that to short-circuit the lament that somehow it’s all the environmentalists’ fault that the national electricity market is ripping us all off.

For love (and money). Ms Tips raised an eyebrow last week, when it was revealed that aspiring candidates for Nick Xenophon’s new SA Best party will have to part ways with at least $20,000 in donations to the campaign. The registration form says the contribution is “payable at the time of the preselection and is not refundable.” It put Ms Tips in mind of other minor parties where a shared sense of political purpose seems less important than having a decent chunk of coin to spare. In addition to Xenophon, there was the ongoing controversy about just how much One Nation candidates have had to invest in their party (and the businesses of those running their party), and while she doesn’t specifically ask for money, there’s something about the tone of Jacqui Lambie’s offer of a “confidential, obligation-free chat” on her page calling for candidates that makes us wonder if she’ll throw in an abdominal workout kit if we call quickly enough.

Do you know of any other minor parties that require you to pay to play, or just unusual requirements to be a candidate? Let us know.

Favour for an old friend. Ms Tips has previously mentioned the curious inclusion of an all-male panel at the first Women in Media conference on the Gold Coast this month. Panel member Joe Hildebrand gave a preview of the topic “Men in Media” on Studio Ten at the weekend, saying he plans to talk about “how men can help women get ahead, how we can improve workplaces”. He added, “I think a lot of what men can do is get out of the way” and said he was asked to the event by an old friend of his, Cath Webber, editor of the Gold Coast Bulletin.

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