Putting words into the PM’s mouth (cont). Another name to throw into the mix for a new Julia Gillard speechwriter: Carl Green. According to our source: “At the ALP conference on Saturday afternoon, Bob Carr was heard telling several notable ALP figures that Gillard desperately needs a new ghost writer and that she should put a call into Carl Green, who wrote speeches for Carr and also a few speeches for Kevin Rudd too. I’m told that it is being taken seriously — perhaps more so than his report on reforming Labor.” We’ve asked the former premier to comment and we’ll let you know if he does.

Tracing Julia Gillard’s roots. Remember that old magazine profile we found of Julia Gillard from her student politics days? The one where she promised to fight for gay rights and against uranium exports? We’ve pieced together the snippet came from Adelaide University rag On Dit from around 1981-2, but a student offers more clues:

“I’m a current history student at Adelaide University, accustomed to digging around in the depths of On Dit. My initial reaction to the Julia Gillard excerpt was, as mentioned on Tuesday, that it probably came from Adelaide Uni in 1981. (She moved to Melbourne Uni in 1982 according to Wikipedia, anyway.) The full collection of On Dit is available online as PDFs (enter year as search term), and I’ve scouted through at least half of the editions from 1981 (including all the September issues around election time), but to no avail. It’s possible that this came from a flyer/insert that wasn’t scanned. However, further searching may well turn up something.

“As an aside, I did find one article by Gillard in this edition, accompanied by a not-very-flattering photo of the young Ms Gillard. She looks very different from the photo in your snippet, so possibly they weren’t taken at a similar time …”

Mia quits Fairfax for News? Has Mia Freedman done a deal with News Limited to join them in some capacity very soon? We speculated that might be the case in October, and we hear now her column in Fairfax’s Sunday Life lift-out this weekend could be her last.

Facebook: keep your shirts on. Sydney theatre Belvoir’s production of Thyestes is, indeed, confronting (critics raved about its Melbourne season earlier this year). But the advertisement the company submitted to Facebook was tame by comparison:

Still, the social networking behemoth wasn’t having it. Belvoir was informed it “violates Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines”. Strange, as publicist Elly Michelle Clough told us, that the site allows racist, misogynist and homophobic groups to set up shop but deems a photo of a shirtless man inappropriate. Strange indeed.

Xmas party watch #1: gifts out of date. More Christmas tales from the corporate offices of Australia. Our friends at Media Monitors tried to get into the festive spirit — but apparently missed the mark a little. Writes one staffer: “Media Monitors staff have been presented with their annual corporate Christmas presents. This year the company has shared the love with a Westfield gift voucher for every staff member (one can only assume the values differ depending on seniority) that expired in November 2011!” Sounds like that came from the Sydney office; or spies in other branches haven’t received anything yet …

Xmas party watch #2: film body knees-up. But not all bosses turn Scrooge at Christmas. While we’ve had lots of feedback on cutting back festive celebrations (at the ABC and yesterday ad agency BWM), at Screen Australia the party was just getting started: we hear they flew the entire Melbourne office up to Sydney for a sumptuous knees-up — with taxi-vouchers for all.

Xmas party watch #3: real estate boom. The times are good if you’re in real estate, too. Says one happy agent:

“A forecast of a slowly rejuvenated property market may be the justification for our real estate agent boss indulging in extravagant season’s greetings, except that every year we get bonuses of a generous monetary nature plus a slap-up meal with drinks  at a swanky city restaurant (this year it is ARIA) with transport provided to cover health and safety issues. Never thought I would say this but so glad I don’t work for Channel Nine.”

Xmas party watch #4: murder for some. Meanwhile, after reading about the doom and gloom at some companies, the MD of retailer Henry Bucks, Tim Cecil, assures us his staff are taken care of:

“Not only are we giving our staff hampers (that we sell through our catalogue) but also hold a Christmas party for all staff including part-timers and casuals. On Tuesday night we commandeered the Chloe Rooms at Young & Jackson and held an hilarious murder mystery night where we all dressed up as our characters and were led down the dark and tricky path of theatre by six accomplished actors. It was a great success and allowed us all to totally relax during a very busy trading time. I think it is essential to always hold a party even if business is tough. You owe it to your staff and they appreciate it.”

Well, we’re not sure about the murder mystery, but good on you Mr Bucks!

Xmas party watch: #5: holiday songs. Speaking of the ABC, one cheeky (and slightly disgruntled) staffer has penned this ditty to sing at the Ultimo Christmas party. If it hadn’t been cancelled …

On the first day of ratings Aunty gave us all minimal local production capacity …
On the second day of ratings Aunty gave us all no New Inventors …
On the third day of ratings Aunty gave us all no arts unit …
On the fourth day of ratings Aunty gave us all no local footy …
On the fifth day of ratings Aunty gave us all more — shows — by — Denton …
On the sixth day of ratings Aunty gave us all (almost) no women on 702 …
On the seventh day of ratings Aunty gave us all no Middle East bureau …
On the eighth day of ratings Aunty gave us all no lawn bowls’ coverage …
On the ninth day of ratings Aunty gave us all no radio Book Show …
On the 10th day of ratings Aunty gave us all no Stephen Ryan …
On the 11th day of ratings Aunty gave us all no Downton Abbey …
On the 12th day of ratings Aunty gave us all no cost re: News 24 …

And still more than two silly weeks before Santa comes down the chimney. Time to relay your corporate Christmas experience to us: drop us a line or use the guaranteed-anonymous form.