A sight for sore eyes - Kevin Rudd in his underwear

The Sydney Morning Herald's Anabel Crabb has sighted PM Kevin Rudd in his underwear.

Speaking at the Sydney University's Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Crabb said she was talking to Rudd in New York when he was Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson, and he went into a menswear store to buy some new clothes. She walked in at just the wrong moment, and nicknamed him ‘Calvin Rudd’.

This story has come to light thanks to Great Lakes College student Alisha King who attended the Academy.

Speaking to The Great Lakes Advocate, King said she can’t keep a straight face when she sees the Prime Minister on TV, and she blames Sydney Morning Herald political writer Annabel Crabb.

The Advocate reports 16-year-old King was one of only 22 girls accepted from more than 1000 applicants statewide for last week’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

Crabb revealed she's seen the PM in his underwear after King asked if she had any funny stories.

Now, for the best part of The Advocate's report:

The tale of the PM in his CKs rather turns the tables – he’s a better known observer of New York stripteases than practitioner – but the Leadership week was about more than gossip.

Leadership is a slippery thing to define, but Alisha discovered it can be simply knowing when to take a back seat.

“We learned leadership is about listening to everyone else and then making a decision,” she said.

“Most of the girls were really smart and worth listening to. They all had different talents like debating, drama and the piano.”

Alisha’s rap sheet suggests she’s also worth listening to.

The year 10 Great Lakes College student is a science prodigy, specialising in marine technology.

She tops history, geography and phys ed, plays A grade soccer, state touch football and stars in Les Miserables and Mr Zarbouvray in her spare time.

Of course, you’ve got to know how to walk.

“One of the sessions was about walking and making your presence felt,” Alisha said.

“The best way is chest out, shoulders back. It’s about symmetry, so if you dress and carry yourself in a symmetrical way you have presence.

“One of my tasks was to walk in and get everyone’s attention without saying anything, and I did it pretty well.”

It was a schedule crammed with pilates and yoga in the morning, courses with names like ‘Utilising the first ten seconds: Impact and Influence’ in the afternoon and treats like Tom Stoppard’s political comedy Rock ‘n’ Roll at night. There was a trip to the art gallery for the Archibalds exhibition. But the best part for Alisha was the diverse roll call of speakers like Crabb, academic luminary Catharine Lumby and 2007 Young Australian of the Year Tanya Major.

“Tanya was my favourite speaker,” Alisha said.

“She told us how we can achieve anything, and we should take every opportunity.”

The Academy was a chance to learn from talented women and weigh up future options; the business world didn’t impress Alisha with its 90 hour weeks, but Earth sciences did. And there might be some new friends.

“We all got each other’s emails, and everyone was crying at the graduation,” she said.

“It was amazing the bond we formed after just a week.”

What was that again, Malcolm?

Shadow Treasury spokesperson Malcolm Turnbull doesn't know where to turn now that inflation has risen to over 4 per cent.

 

Mr. Turnbull diddled about on inflation during an ABC 1 Insiders program last February when he was challenged about his view that inflation wasn't that important an issue.

Now he twists and turns over the latest inflation figures from the Reserve Bank.

 

The rise in inflation is awkward for Opposition Treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, who has repeatedly accused Mr Swan of exaggerating the threat of inflation and criticised the Reserve Bank for raising rates.

Mr Turnbull said yesterday the world financial crisis would put more upward pressure on interest rates and slow economic growth.

"That is why I encouraged the Reserve Bank not to raise official rates earlier this year and to wait to see how the international situation developed," he said.

 

Perhaps Malcolm is now also reassessing his earlier opinion that The great risk to inflation now under Labor is a break out in wage inflation.

Lord Downer is blogging but is anyone reading?

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer is blogging at 

http://www.alexanderdowner.com.au/Pages/Headlines.aspx?SectionID=28.

He allows moderated comments.

I have to hand it to the man - he just keeps on keeping on.

Alexander is getting few comments to his posts so far.

Make his day and tell him what you think!

2008 Olympic Torch Relay - Australia

Byron wins praise for environmental work

The Cape Byron Headland Trust's littoral rainforest restoration project, which re-established 15 hectares of degraded littoral rainforest vegetation at Cosy Corner (Cape Byron State Conservation Area), was featured in the 2006-07 NSW Environment Trust annual report.

Over 500 hours of professional regeneration work and 290 volunteers were involved in this successful outcome of a $21,700 funded project.

 

The Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare Group was also mentioned for its ongoing preservation and restoration of remnants of the Big Scrub which once covered a large tract of the NSW North Coast.

In 2006-07 the group was awarded a grant of $99,970 for rehabilitation work.

Those Labor media flirts are at it again

Fair go, Kev. Your mob are turning into bigger media flirts than the little leathered Goebbels you replaced.

Faced with a fair bit of media flack over 2020, what'd you do?

Why yesterday you pre-empt any findings of the current ACCC inquiry into grocery prices by announcing that you will make it easier for foreign-owned supermarkets to undertake start-ups in Australia.

 

Got news for you, mate - Walmart and the likes are not famous for delivering genuine competition or value to the customer either.

And new players on the retail scene are not going to benefit rural and regional towns, because we don't have the population numbers to support all the big players and small business dies off when one enters the main street.

 

The ACCC (which isn't due to delivery its findings until July) only started public hearings at the beginning of the month and only received around 116 points of view before its submissions deadline.

Aussie farmers haven't even finished giving evidence yet.

 

Here in regional New South Wales where prices are also upped by fuel and transport costs, I'm sure most of us would appreciate the Federal Government not jumping the gun just to grab a headline.

A fair dinkum stab at establishing competition and realistic pricing is what we're after.

Labor's Janelle Saffin standing up for the unemployed

The Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin reported by ABC North Coast Radio.

 

The federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says she supports plans to have Centrelink to take a more compassionate approach when assessing whether people should lose their unemployment benefits.

The Government's move comes in response to complaints from welfare groups that the number of people who have had their benefits cut has doubled since mid-2007.

It is understood as many as 1,000 people are losing their benefits each week, with about a third of those becoming homeless.

Ms Saffin says she has already tried to implement the new policy at a local level.

"My office liases with the department, with Centrelink, and that's the relationship that we've been developing with them - saying 'hey can you have a closer look at this'," she said.

"Look more carefully - we do that here, we get to know people's circumstances and then we make the representation on that basis."

 

It is refreshing to have a local MP who recognises the realities of life on the NSW North Coast, which has some of the most disadvantaged local government areas in Australia.