From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours …

Abbott a leftie. Who knew Tony Abbott leaned left? Left-handed, we mean. Tips noticed he was cack-handed when he signed himself into the top job at Government House this morning. We’re not saying there’s anything sinister in it, though.

New cabinet sworn in. There are usually a few cuties when a new government is sworn in, and the prize today is a tie between the baby daughter of Mathias Cormann and the young daughter of Arthur Sinodinos … meanwhile, some frontbenchers took a chaplain in for company (Eric Abetz, George Brandis). Tony Abbott’s parents, Fay and Dick, looked understandably chuffed to watch their son being sworn in, although they were somewhat towered over by their granddaughters (an experience familiar to many grandparents). The Abbott women again opted for lots of white, which can be dangerous. Watch out for the raspberry jam on those scones at morning tea …

Gillard and Windsor in double bill. Julia Gillard is certainly not holding back now the election is over. She’s written for The Guardian, is speaking with Anne Summers at events in Sydney and Melbourne, and will speak at a gig with former independent MP Tony Windsor at an event in Melbourne on November 10.  The Victorian Women’s Trust has organised the “Credit where credit is due” event at the Melbourne Town Hall. Gillard will speak for 45 minutes, followed by Windsor. We hear that when tickets went on sale the VWT’s website crashed, and the 2000 tickets sold out within hours.

The speech will be streamed live for those who missed out. It’s likely the audience will have a higher proportion of women that our new cabinet (5%), put it that way … Gillard is taking on a more prominent public role than John Howard did after he was unelected as prime minister (Howard went quiet for a while). Will this help Gillard shape her legacy after a troubled tenure in the top job?

ALP hopefuls to debate. We’re not sure how interesting this will be given they apparently have exactly the same policies, but will Labor leadership wannabes Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten face off in a debate later this week? Watch out, Melbourne …

Barnett in trouble? Apparently WA Premier Colin Barnett is in some trouble in his party; our WA readers are starting to gossip about how long he has left in the top job. We enjoyed this form-guide website, which estimates that Barnett has just nine votes in party room, compared with 34 for chair-sniffing Troy Buswell. Does that sound right — and when can we expect a change at the top?

*Heard anything that might interest Crikey? Send your tips to boss@crikey.com.au or use our guaranteed anonymous form