The author, the Turnbulls and Tony Jones. Michael Cunningham, one of the star authors visiting Sydney for the writers’ festival, was invited to Lucy and Malcolm Turnbull’s for dinner on Friday night. The author was impressed by the view, the catering and the music — a violinist from the Australian Chamber Orchestra on a famously expensive violin. And also the frosty atmosphere between the host and one Tony Jones who had been invited and apparently couldn’t be un-invited even though he’d caused Malcolm loads of strife post-Lateline.

No room in the House for some. With the significant growth in the number of political staffers and others at Parliament House, there has been increasing pressure on parking, especially during sitting weeks. So, to resolve the problem, senior public servants and lobbyists have been told that they can no longer access secure parking in the House and Senate car parks. They must now park in the public car park, with its three-hour time limit.

If the public car park is full or the public servant will be at Parliament House for more than three hours (very common during estimates hearings) they must park up to one kilometre away and walk to the House. When leaving the House late at night a one-kilometre walk in the dark, past lines of white cars waiting to take politicians and staffers home, is not pleasant.  A reasonable compromise suggestion that the ban on the use the car parks should apply only when both Houses are sitting has apparently been rejected.

Age gets out of the education business? Is The Age education unit another victim of Fairfax’s restructure? While online at education.theage.com.au appears business as usual, it seems the project has been erased in the latest restructure. For more that 30 years an education team at The Age has provided publications, activities and events for students, teachers and parents. It is a great loss at a time when it has never been more important for students to be critical users of the media — particularly newspapers.