Crikey cartooning

The Liberals didn't lie about interest rates.

Another instance of WE'LL DO ANYTHING TO WIN SYNDROME - even tender an apology. With just over two weeks of a desperate Prime Minister still to go, could making apologies take over from kissing babies?

Goverance 2008?

Miss Eagle has a long and strong interest in governance and so she can't resist publishing this from Crikey.

An anonymous tipster to Crikey has served up the following account of what a Rudd Government might have in store early in its first term: a royal commission into Australian intergovernmental relations. Maybe, maybe not. But whichever, remember where you read it first.

Expect a big announcement from Kevin Rudd in the first week of the election campaign about fixing the "blame game" between the commonwealth and the states. Rudd is set to announce a "Commission of Inquiry into Australian Governance" with full royal commission powers, with the states and territories agreeing to refer powers necessary to give it terms of reference that will be wide enough to inquire into any relevant aspect of state or federal governance.

The Commission's terms of reference will include recommending any necessary changes to the constitution to update the respective roles of the Commonwealth and states. The political appeal of this proposal (and one aspect that has caused some concern amongst more cautious Labor types) is that the Commission's terms of reference will be broad enough to enable it to look into records of the Howard government which would otherwise be off-limits.

When Rudd was Chief of Staff to Wayne Goss they were given the huge political free-kick of the Fitzgerald Report, which documented the failings of the previous National Party government in embarrassing detail. Rudd and Goss were able to use the Fitzgerald Report as a political stick to beat the opposition with for years to come. Rudd is keen to have something something similar in his first few years that will document the scandals and failures of the Howard government, which can then be used a political weapon for the 2010 election and beyond.

The likely timetable is for the Commission to be set up in early 2008, conduct its inquiries for 12-18 months and then report in early 2010, with its recommendations to then be put to a referendum to coincide with the 2010 election.

Rudd has earmarked Professor George Williams of UNSW for the job of Chairman of the Commission, with a promise that Williams will be rewarded with a spot on the High Court in 2012, when Justice William Gummow retires, but only if the referendum is successful. If it does succeed, Williams is likely to be regarded as Australia's foremost expert on federal-state relations, and will be able ride into the High Court as "the man who saved the federation".

Boo-ing loud, boo-ing long, boo-ing from the heart

Here's a not-news item. When The Eels run on to the turf at Telstra Dome next Sunday there won't be any welcoming applause - not even of the polite sort. The boos will be loud and long and the motivation deep and heartfelt. To know why, read to-day's missive from Jeff Wall in Crikey.

Talk of next Sunday’s NRL preliminary final at Telstra Dome in Melbourne between the Storm and the Parramatta Eels may have to take a back seat this week thanks to the obsession the Eels CEO has with driving the Storm out of the NRL.

Despite the on-field success the Storm have enjoyed since entering the NRL in 1998 – premiers in 1999, runners up in 2006, top eight placing in eight of the ten seasons they have competed in, and minor premiers last year and this year – the Eels CEO, Denis Fitzgerald, wants the Storm ejected from the NRL premiership.
The Eels had hardly begun celebrating their comprehensive win over the Bulldogs on Saturday night when their CEO, who at times makes good sense and other times makes complete nonsense, opened fire on their next opponents.

The off-field anti-Melbourne salvos will probably have two outcomes – the crowd at Telstra Dome will be even better than the Storm hopes (around 40,000), and the odds on premiership favourites will be even more fired up by the attack on their very legitimacy.

Fitzgerald is the longest serving CEO in the NRL. He has been at the Eels helm since 1978. He was one of the staunchest opponents of Super League and that partly accounts for his opposition to the News Limited owned Melbourne Storm.

A few years ago he compared promoting rugby league in Melbourne to promoting beach volleyball in Iceland. Yesterday he said the majority of the Storm supporters came from New Zealand or the northern states.
The Storm have been playing below their best in recent weeks – but still winning – and if they need some firing up Fitzgerald seems to have obliged.

The other preliminary final will be between the Manly Sea Eagles and the North Queensland Cowboys at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night, after the Cowboys wiped out the New Zealand Warriors by 49-12 in Townsville yesterday.

The Cowboys captain, Jonathan Thurston, again laid claims to be the best player in the NRL, a claim that now enjoys wide support among the game's experts. The best, but maybe not the fairest. He has been charged this morning with a grade one dangerous throw and will miss Saturday night's preliminary final against the Manly Sea Eagles unless he can beat the charge before the Judiciary. The Cowboys will miss him: he's the one player capable of ending the Sea Eagles grand final ambitions. He will be represented by the "Perry Mason" of judiciary advocates, Geoff Bellew, SC -- who happens to be a former Manly Sea Eagles Chairman!"

The Sea Eagles coaching and administration teams won’t be interested this week in a media shoot out with the Cowboys. They know that if they can shut down Thurston, and fullback, Matt Bowen, a grand final appearance almost certainly awaits them.