More rats from Brumby ranks. Which two former Victorian government ministers will follow ex-premier John Brumby and quit life in opposition in the coming months?

Windsor a priority for departments. Contacts in a federal department have been told to treat all correspondence from Tony Windsor as priority regardless of content. One branch alone deals with up to five letters a week, with the expectation they will be investigated and responded to within five days. Apparently this direction has come “from the top” and is across the board — not just limited to the one department. I am sure other backbenchers would love the same treatment — some of whom have been known to wait months for a response.

Where’s Albo on the Middle East? What is Anthony Albanese’s position on the Palestinian issue? Albo in opposition went on a PLO-funded “study tour” of the West Bank and Gaza with Ali Kazak, the then-PLO rep in Australia. He’s supported the pro-Palestinian position of the ALP Left for decades. But he and Carmel Tebbutt oppose the Israel boycott established by Marrickville Council. The two positions aren’t mutually exclusive, of course, but one wonders what Albo might do to ensure Ms Tebbutt hangs on against the Greens in a very tough fight in Marrickville.

Clover and the hipsters. Sydney’s mayor and indy MP Clover Moore goes after the bike-riding, small bar-loving hipsters (as captured by Melissa Brooks)…