CANBERRA: Political pundits here are largely lauding the Albanese government for their choice of a commemorative mug to celebrate the first federal Budget surplus in 15 years.
A number of senior mainstream media politics reporters and commentators have called it “a refreshingly honest approach to politics”, “a brave new way of conducting business in Canberra” and “uncharacteristic yet commendable candour” although not all the reaction has been positive.
All politics writers from the News Corp stable called it among other things “A contemptible con” and “A dirty lowdown trick by Labor aimed at hoodwinking voters into thinking that they have any good points at all” and The Australian‘s Paul Kelly is understood to have reacted to the mug’s release by drawing on his decades’ long experience as one of the nation’s most respected politics observers by beginning to pen a 25,000 word essay on why Australia simply cannot afford a second Albanese term.
They were all referring to the mug (pictured right) that shows at the very least Prime Minister Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers are being upfront with the Australian electorate, with deficits expected over the forward estimates after just one surprise surplus in 2023/24 caused by a series of factors unlikely to be repeated down the track.
The Morrison government copped a lot of flak and ongoing ridicule after beginning a “BACK IN BLACK” ad campaign before the 2019 Budget supported in early 2020 with their infamous Back in Black mugs, even though that surplus never eventuated despite Opposition frontbenchers continuing to insist it did.
And it seems the Albanese government is determined not to suffer the same fate; determined, in fact, to never, ever, look as stupid as Jane Hume did (above).
“We’re not mugs,” the PM reportedly told his parliamentary caucus earlier this morning before the start of the Budget sitting. “Well, at least we’re trying not to be until we snare a second term.”
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SURFERS PARADISE: Lady Georgina Downer is entering her third day of a hunger strike after she chained herself to a bollard outside the LNP’s Gold Coast office here, demanding to be selected to replace Stuart Robert, who is set to quit the federal parliament.
“I’m the natural fit for the Fatten (sic) electorate based her on the Golf (sic) Coast,” Lady Georgina (file picture, below right) said as she refused to even accept a sip of water from her ladies in waiting until after the media had packed up their cameras and left.
“Daddy is furious that I’ve had to resort to such unbecoming measures to get a seat that is so clearly rightly mine,” she said. “The moment Roberts (sic) announced he was walking away from politics to spend more time with his family businesses and less time under parliamentary scrutiny, the local LNP should have contacted me immediately and offered me the seat on a patter (sic).”
Lady Georgina said that on her election to the House of Representatives, whoever was federal Opposition Leader would “have my full and unequivocal support”, adding after a short yet telling pause “at that point in time”.
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