Just to confirm re. ANZ.  A friend of mine works in the new green building in the Docklands : Even in these enlightened times and in this “forward thinking country” they have two standards of lunch rooms — one for the normal workers and one for the domestics such as cleaners and the like. The standard staff one is rather nice with views and the like, yet the domestics one is down in the bowels of the building and doesn’t have windows.

ANZ also makes its workers pay for access to bike parking and showers in their new building ($100 per year, I believe).

Shock jock Alan Jones seems to be easing up on his radio commitments — could be eyeing off a prized (well, in some circles anyway) columnist gig at a News Limited publication? In the space of six days, he has appeared twice on the pages of News Limited tabloids. First up, he appeared in The Sunday Telegraph in a full-page piece condemning The Sydney Morning Herald‘s coverage of the apparently explosive “could-bring-down-the-NSW-Government” content of the McGurk tapes. And on this past Friday he was given an opportunity to launch a full-scale assault on the federal Government’s $250 million licence fee rebate for FTA television networks. All very odd. If he does get a gig with News Limited, he would be quite at home at the Tele, I’d imagine.

Ha ha; brilliant stuff in Robertson. You guys managed to get your hands on the letter from John Gifford. John, known simply as “Giffo” by his former students (yeah, wait for it) is a nice old fellow who, in addition to being the secretary of the Gosford branch of the ALP, is also a recording secretary/administrative officer of some seniority in the local cricketing organisations up here on the Central Coast. But yes, he’s a former teacher. A retired teacher, in fact, who used to work at Terrigal High School as the chief librarian — quite a senior position in a school of 1200+.

He’s one of these lovely old unionists from the grand old “no ticket, no start” days but certainly not in the unpleasant sense. Never nasty but a classic bureaucrat. Everyone up here knows he was quietly fuming about the Iguana incident; especially in relation to the sacking of Melissa Batten. Being an ex-teacher he’s always supported Deb O’Neill and was openly disappointed when the redistribution meant she ran for Terrigal (which didn’t include his Gosford branch) instead of Gosford. He would have, just quietly, loved “having” to send that letter out.

He wants Neal gone and he’d much rather have a fellow ex-teacher in her place; especially one who still teaches teaching at the local uni. A winner, as far as he’s concerned, in every sense.

Why is it that Crikey fails to publish credible information about a revolt among local ALP members in Greenway including former member Frank Mossfield following the imposition of apparatchik Michelle Rowland by the federal ALP executive? Protest meetings when Kevin Rudd visits, setting up of a website www.rankandfile.com.au and local branches and Greenway FEC effectively on strike refusing to help a candidate who refuses to put herself up for scrutiny by local members.

If it’s good enough for Craig Thomson and Belinda Neal to have a rank-and-file ballot, why is it that Michelle Rowland gets special treatment? Yes she served one term on Blacktown City Council but even the local branches were none too impressed when she suddenly stood down from the No.2 position on the Ward 2 ticket at the last election, thus conveniently swapping positions with the No.3 — again without any consultation with local branches and avoiding a rank-and-file ballot.

Who will hand out how-to-vote cards on election day for the ALP in Greenway?

Three-time Queensland losing election specialist Jake Smith was until Friday, February 12, 2010 telling anyone in the LNP and Queensland media who would listen that three-time election loser Lawrence Springborg was actually only a one-time loser and deserved another go. His logic: that the LNP had only be amalgamated for one election. Sorry Jake, lucky for Queensland, your maths just do not add up. Thank God that the Sunday Galaxy Poll puts you in a minority of two (you and Lawrie).

I was working at Seven’s Sydney studios at the time the original pilots of a panel show called The White Room were made. In my recollection, at least 4x pilots (maybe even one or two more) were recorded over a period of weeks. Whether that was 2002 or 2003, I can’t recall. I am fairly certain that there was a reasonable period of time before The Chat Room appeared, as I recall, in the middle of 2003.

The Chat Room also had a few pilots made before the first episode went to air “as live”. The Chat Room had a tie-up with Austereo that, as far as I can recall, The White Room didn’t. There were also several different key production people in the team making The Chat Room than those who were key players in The White Room pilots.