Love is in the post There are few things that bring out the weird in politicians and public institutions like Valentine’s Day. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan, continuing whatever witchcraft has entranced his state, got a seemingly universally positive response to the following:
When we say universally positive, we’re talking more than pictures of him with love hearts around his face (although, there were plenty of those) — one person put together a fawning card that read “I love you like WA loves Mark McGowan”, while another got a detailed portrait/tired hip hop joke tattooed on his thigh. McGowan really doesn’t have to try anymore, huh?
Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese (the Labor leader Mark McGowan dreams of being during his most terrifying sleep paralysis) continued his crimes against posting, his own message warped through Victoria’s snap lockdown (was it even intentionally Valentine’s themed? It’s hard to tell):
Meanwhile Victorian Police continued the classic “Cops on Twitter” combination of abstract joviality and concrete menace:
And finally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics decided, for reasons best known to its social media manager, get all horny on main, reminding us that 33% of its office is well up for it:
Making headlines We have previously noted Tim Wilson’s posting mania in promoting his anti-compulsory super campaign. It seems any attention, however negative, is good enough for our Tim to engage with and slap a link to his website on.
So we can’t help but wonder if the following — surely the weirdest and clunkiest headline this side of “I have no experience of ghosts but house is always haunt as moving proves” — might have been his idea?
Kennett, Jeff! We’re always happy to keep an eye on the doings of former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, Crikey‘s grandad who hates us. Unsurprisingly, he had some less than positive thoughts about Victoria’s snap lockdown:
What a sad day. Beautiful. But nowhere to go. Florists with stock they can’t sell. Functions cancelled. Restaurants having to throw out volumes of fresh food because their doors have been locked. A whole state closed. There has got to be a better way of handling future outbreaks.
Ah yes, ways of handling outbreaks. A subject Kennett knows well, for example, in his dealings with the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital. The Hospital had stood for over 90 years, treating victims of polio, typhoid, the Spanish flu, scarlet fever and, later, HIV/AIDS. Despite years of protests to save the site, the Kennett government closed it in 1996.
Tim Wilson continuing to work hard for his TOFW award, and wins it easily.
What is the matter with Albo? Drinking too much of his own craft beer?
“There’s no where in the world that tackled a second wave like Victorians”. Well, what about his own constituency of Grayndler, which didn’t even have second wave. But, oh no! People there live under the oppressive yoke of an LNP state government!
“There’s nowhere in the world that can stop a third wave like Victorians” Yep, 112 days locked up in their own homes going stir crazy should do it. When they do venture outside for their allotted hour’s exercise, perhaps a drone with a timer can hover overhead with the voice of Dan Andrews telling them to “Go home now!”
“.. Australians are with you.” Maybe they are just puzzled and perplexed by what has happened to Victorians under the leadership of Crikey’s “Man of the Year”. I know I am.
But I do feel for Victorians. Very, very sorry for them.
We’re doing just fine, thank you.
Oops sorry meant to like! Fat fingers
I hope a Newscorpse journalist asks Andrews about Kennett’s remarks. The perfect answer would recall Kennett’s (and Peter Costello’s) classic burn…
“He’s irrelevant!”
Do you understand the concept of shame?
Clearly logic is foreign.
For the record, the usedCarr, when premier of NSW, sold off the North Head Quarantine station (277 hectares/680 acres) when it reverted from the feds in 1999 after 150+ years of protecting the nation under the Commonwealth aegis, now home to a hotel, conference centre, and restaurant complex.
In that time (between 1828 and 1984) at least 580 vessels were quarantined at the Quarantine Station. More than 13,000 people were quarantined at the station of whom an estimated 572 died and were buried there.
We should have been so lucky, Plague Princess anyone?