Pot calls kettle black. So former Democrats leader John Coulter says his
old party has failed.
The way he failed as leader? HG and Roy nicknamed him Blinky Bill, so dazed he seemed
when he held the job. Look at the record. The Dems scored 12.6% of the
Senate vote in 1990 and 10.8 in 1996 – and less than half of that, 5.3%, under Coulter in 1993.

Larry – curly or no? Amazing. Twenty-four hours on and Clive Hamilton
hasn’t yet blamed Cyclone Larry on climate change.

Cheesy
story. “A senior Victorian Liberal stars in the Bracks
Government’s controversial pre-election television advertising blitz,” The Agereports today. “Businessman Andrew Ronalds, who narrowly missed becoming the
Liberal candidate for Gembrook in the November state election and is standing
for election to the party’s Victorian administrative committee next month, stars
in one of the Government’s ‘Building a World-Class Victoria’ advertisements.”
And why shouldn’t he. Crikey understands that despite all the woes wracking the
Victorian branch of the ALP, the local Liberals are more on voters’ noses than
gorgonzola.

North
Shore shuffle. Despite his promotion in the shadow ministry yesterday, Crikey hears that Andrew Humpherson is still being stalked for preselection by the ambitious former staffer Paul
Ritchie. And we also gather that Barry O’Farrell is keeping himself trim and
taut and ready to lead. He was spotted competing at the Chatswood 10km Fun Run
on the weekend, completing the course in a respectable time of a little over an
hour. Meanwhile, there’s talk that Peter Debnam is attempting to make his
faction drop Michael Darby as their preferred candidate for the independent
seat of Manly and back Michael Baird (son of Bruce Baird). How the hard right take
this could be interesting.

Recipe of the Day. Make the most of bananas and sugar while they last with a tasty banana split or some banana doughnuts.

Send your snippets to christian@crikey.com.au