From the Crikey grapevine, the latest anonymous tips and rumours …

PMP executive marched from company. It seems PMP Print has let go executive general manager Andrew Williams. Crikey was told yesterday that Melbourne-based Williams, who rejoined the company to head up its distribution business in 2009, had his employment terminated effective immediately. But the company isn’t saying why, or even confirming the departure, with numerous calls to managers and representatives not returned. Williams was pictured among PMP executives on the website yesterday — today his name has disappeared.

With Schultz gone, Hume is in play. Veteran Liberal MP Alby Schultz won’t recontest his federal seat of Hume, ending the speculation — much of it aired here — over a challenge to his preselection. In fact, the 72-year-old himself told us back in November he would absolutely be running again and to stop listening to “rumours from the National Party”.

Schultz is now backing Rhodes Scholar, business consultant and Malcolm Turnbull mate Angus Taylor, but as The Australian reports the Nationals haven’t given up on winning the seat for themselves. We’ve been told Taylor — who some tip as a future party leader — is set to run a “presidential-style campaign and blow the Nats out of the water if they dare challenge”.

Abbott, Sheridan and the gay advocates. Tony Abbott sat down to an Italian meal with his “friend” Greg Sheridan, the conservative-leaning foreign editor at The Australian, at Lygon Street institution the University Cafe on Sunday night. Today it has emerged the pair were accosted by half a dozen gay marriage protesters, who stated their case before being escorted from the diner.

One of the protesters, Rachel Sztanski, is circulating pictures and video of the altercation. Abbott told reporters today: “I think people should be able to enjoy a quiet meal with a friend on a Sunday night in Lygon Street.” But as one protester pointed out: “Abbott interrupts our lives all of the time with his bigotry that he spews over the airwaves and on the television that often goes unchallenged. This was a good opportunity to get to respond to some of his right-wing views, so we took it.”

Did Toyota defame its own workers? An intriguing prospect from one anonymous reader:

“Surely the 350 workers who were sacked by Toyota for alleged under-performance can sue for defamation. And if the purpose of the defamation was to reduce the workers’ redundancy payouts, surely that’s not a mere civil matter. How much would Toyota pay a worker not to test those matters in court?”

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