First words in the Forty-Third Australian Parliament that Tony Abbott may repudiate

Somehow I suspect that these words may be some of the first Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will repudiate in the Forty-Third Commonwealth Parliament:

Mr Speaker, you are the custodian of the traditions of this parliament. You are the custodian of the rights of members. You are no longer a creature of party. You are no longer the creature of the executive. You are now free to be in this parliament everything that a Westminster style Speaker should be. This is your time, Mr Speaker, and I know you will use it in the best interests of this parliament and this nation.

A far cry from this previous statement by Abbott on 22 February 2008:

Mr Speaker, you are acting dishonourably.

Which may in part explain the constrained look (hinting at barely restrained annoyance) on the Speaker's face, on the first sitting day since the August 2010 general election, as Abbott proclaimed:

Mr Speaker, I never wavered in my faith that you were the best person for the job that you hold. There were weeks when others doubted. There were weeks when you must have doubted yourself what was going to emerge from this parliament. But I was with you every step of the way. I was there, I was your true friend......

Although it is more likely that the reason for this apparent coolness towards Abbott may be found in Jenkins' remark after his re-election as Speaker:

It is true to say that it has been an interesting period over the last few weeks, and you get to acknowledge those that are close to you, both family and friends. At some stage, perhaps, the true story of the last few weeks will be aired.......

As for future interaction in the House of Representatives between this pair, perhaps one should look to the past. Harry Jenkins or his deputy removed Abbott from the House during the Forty-Second Parliament at least thrice and he was requested to resume his seat on occasions too numerous to mention. One has to wonder how long it will be before he tries The Speaker's patience during this particular parliament.

Teh Drum woz wrung! Poodle doesn't win 'most loathed' prize

The Sydney Morning Herald poll early yesterday evening

Aunty ABC has been getting her knickers in a knot because Marieke Hardy over at The Drum online decided to presume that "there is nobody in the entire world who is loathed by Australia more than Christopher Pyne".

Of course Aunty should apologise to "Poodle' Pyne for getting its facts wrong.

He's only the second-most loathed person in Australia! After Andrew Bolt or Alan Jones on any given day and when the wind is blowing in from the west.

Here's editor Jonathan Green disappearing up his own nether regions in an effort to avoid whatever fall-out he imagines might come his way:

"On Monday I approved a piece by Marieke Hardy titled The Pyne experiments. I was wrong to do that.
Marieke is a very talented writer ... we value her contributions. Drum readers love her too, regularly making her Monday columns among our top 10 pieces for any given week.
I feel I let her down this time, because the assault on Christopher Pyne she filed this week was not on a par with the main body of her work. It was not up to her standards, and failed to meet the standards for argument and well-thought opinion we try to maintain on this site. As her editor I should have told her that and pulled the piece.
We’ve dropped it from our site now, and we take this opportunity to apologise to Christopher Pyne for both the attack and for its deeply personal nature. There is no formal pressure on us to do this, but we think it’s the right thing to do.
Mistakes happen in daily publishing. Sometimes things see the light of day that on reflection ought more properly have been cut, re-written or dropped altogether. I take the view that while it’s regrettable to make the error in the first place, it’s never too late to both apologise and do what you can to correct the situation.
Jonathan Green"

Telstra tries to close the gate behind those bolting brumbies

In the Clarence Valley on the NSW North Coast Telstra customer satisfaction is probably at an all time low and, in a clear case of karmic retribution, some customers are telling me that they will be abandoning their home and business accounts as soon as current contracts expire because this national telecommunications company is not supporting the community and local economy.

So it was with some amusement that I read the following in The Herald-Sun on Thursday 30 September 2010:

AFTER years of appalling service Telstra has finally conceded the customer is always right.
In a major turnaround, Telstra chief David Thodey yesterday pledged to lift rock-bottom customer satisfaction levels.
Under a $1 billion plan already under way, Telstra intends to drastically reduce complaints and resolve problems on a first-call basis.
In recent months Telstra has scrapped a $2.20 "administration fee" and shelved charges for calls to Telstra's help desk for service and support from home and mobile phones.
Some "nuisance fees" will also become a thing of the past, with Big Pond customers no longer having to pay for extra email addresses.
And in another break with the past, Mr Thodey declared there would be no flashy advertising campaigns, instead spending the money to change staff attitudes.
"What we will be focused on is changing the culture of this company, changing the way we interact with customers and giving a different experience," Mr Thodey said.
Staff are already being sat down to watch a short film that Telstra marketing chief Kate McKenzie says will teach them to stop "lecturing to the crowd" - "Something we've been guilty of in the past," the film's narrator says.
Ms McKenzie adds: "We don't want to shout at our customers, we want to have a dialogue with them."

The day before the newspaper article I received a copy of this email:

From: [redacted]
Sent:Wednesday, 29 September 2010 8:53 AM
To: 'nswtcw@team.telstra.com'; Telstra - Susan.Passmore (susan.passmore@team.telstra.com)
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: Attention Ms Sue Passmore
Importance: High

Ms Passmore

I am totally dismayed (no, disgusted!) by Telstra's decision to close its Grafton call centre.

It seems loyalty counts for nothing – only the almighty dollar counts!

Hence, I now hold serious doubts about remaining as a Telstra customer.

Please forward to me at my postal address (below) the relevant information, papers, forms, etc associated with closing my account for all Telstra services associated with my phone number and address.

[Name and address redacted for privacy reasons]

UPDATE:

TELSTRA shares crashed to a new low yesterday as the telco tried to calm staff concerns over speculation thousands of jobs would be cut.
It is believed to be part of a three-year plan to simplify the business and strip costs to bolster dwindling earnings.
Shares in Telstra fell 6c to $2.62 as David Thodey's strategy to revitalise its lumbering business failed to win over investors and as speculation on massive job cuts permeated the market.
In an internal memo, Telstra staff were told to expect more job cuts but to remain focused on improving the business.
[The Australian on 1 October 2010, as Telstra share price continues to reach record lows]

A nugget of truth?

"I gave a Bible to my daughter.

That's how you make atheists."

Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists