So, who out there in Bugland agreed with precious Offsiders panellist Samantha Maiden on Sunday that host David Speers had been far too harsh and mean in his interview with Senator Jane Hume?

According to Maiden from Newscorpse, bullyboy Speers eviscerated the shadow finance minister senator as she stumbled and fumbled through an explanation as to where the LNP coalition stood on Labor’s decision to end the costly and temporary petrol excise cut of 22c a litre introduced by the Morrison government just before the May election.

The last thing the MGH wants to do is to give Hume credit for something beyond her abilities but there’s just a slim chance she was being deliberately obtuse so that Labor can carry the full can for any decision to drop the fuel excise cut from midnight tonight.

Contrary to Maiden’s bleatings on behalf of the sisterhood, Speers should be congratulated for his role in what turned out to be a train wreck of an interview for Hume.

Here’s part of their exchange, with Speers trying his damnest to get Hume to say whether the LNP agreed with the Albanese Government’s decision to end the excise cut.

Speers: Should it come to an end?

Hume: That was our policy.

Speers: And now?

Hume: It is our policy. It was our policy. We don’t have policies; we are in Opposition; we are not in government.

(insert the loud, screeching sound of rolling stock and bogies derailing rather badly)

NEWS FLASH: LNP hopes to return to government soon; it just won’t have any policies, okay!

Well done, Speersie.

Maiden at the show’s end appeared to turn her nose up at fellow panelist Katherine Murphy’s observation of a decade having passed since Julia Bishop’s “misogyny” speech to Parliament.

Maiden said she’s have more to say on that later. Given how she rushed to Hume’s defence last Sunday, the MGH will be interested to see if Maiden goes into bat so readily for someone on the other side of politics who was treated very, very, badly by a swag of LNP men and women behaving very badly and many in the mainstream media who behaved far worse.

Nine News to be cut in half!

Channel Nine’s 6pm news service out of Brisbane will be cut to only a 30-minute bulletin for all of next week.

Bulletin co-presenter Andrew Lofthouse announced the measure on air last night, explaining the need for the reduced bulletin.

“State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is taking a well-earned break and won’t be available to comment on the usual range of issues we seek his input on each night.”