Top 10 Political Fixers No.4: Bill Ludwig. Bill Ludwig has to be the most feared political fixer in Australia, and among the most brutal. When Kevin Rudd called for the Labor Party to be purged of ”right-wing thugs” it was Big Bill he had in mind.

The 77-year-old former shearer with comb-over hair, thick glasses and Buffalo Bill moustache is not only national boss of the Australian Workers Union, one of Australia’s oldest and largest blue-collar unions, he also dominates the Labor Forum, which has run Queensland Labor politics for the last 20 years. And unlike some power brokers, he definitely doesn’t rely on charm.

In the late 1990s, three members of Bill’s AWU faction in Townsville were jailed for electoral fraud, which involved forgery and branch stacking in Labor Party pre-selection battles. One of the convicted trio, Karen Ehrmann, swore an affidavit to the court that she was ”a bit player in a well-known scheme being carried out by the AWU” across the state. — Paul Barry (read the rest here)

Hadley, Jones take on journos, pollies and ex-employers. Top-rating Sydney radio jocks Ray Hadley and Alan Jones have lashed out at journalists over their coverage of the Convoy of no Confidence in Canberra.

2GB mornings host Hadley yesterday criticised Sky News, his former employer, for ignoring the convoy in favour of coverage of the downfall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya. He claimed the subscription channel was focussing on events in the Middle East to bolster its Australia Network bid. — Matthew Knott (read the rest here)

How Buttrose said ‘no’ to Murdoch. Ita Buttrose has been at the helm of some of Australia’s most popular magazines and newspapers during her career, so when the journalist, editor and businesswoman claims she stood up to Rupert Murdoch, it’s worth hearing about how she did it.

Such was the case during last night’s Australian Story when, in what was the second instalment of the show exploring her life and career, Buttrose made a couple of casual lines regarding her encounters with the man during her four years at News Limited — particularly over a story requested by Murdoch himself.

“I assigned a reporter to do it but [Murdoch] wasn’t happy with the result and said, ‘No, that wasn’t good enough. Have you followed this person?’.” — Angela Priestley (read the rest here)

No more smelly lunches: BHP to workers. File this one in the folder marked ‘Power HR memos’: There’s to be no more smelly lunches at BHP Billiton after the company implemented a strict new office etiquette plan in its Brisbane offices.

The communiqué, published in The Australian, informs workers that they must refrain eating food with strong odours, placing jackets on their chairs and sticking post-it notes on monitors or keyboards. — Tom Cowie (read the rest here)