IN a political gaffe that could have come straight from the scriptwriters of the ABC comedy The Hollowmen, misdirected emails from the office of NSW ALP right-wing powerbroker Joe Tripodi give a rare insight into the thought processes of the clique at the helm of the ship of state.
It's no secret that the Premier, Morris Iemma, and key factional allies such as Treasurer Michael Costa, Ports Minister Mr Tripodi and former fisheries minister Eddie Obeid are at war with their party's head office.
Nor is it a secret that this besieged parliamentary group is determined to retain power at any cost and to force through its controversial agenda, the centrepiece of which is the privatisation of the state's electricity industry.
Mr Iemma's approval rating is abysmal, and if an election was held tomorrow the Coalition would almost certainly win government.
What is Mr Iemma's strategy to counter this painful reality? The misdirected emails suggest the Government is set to embark on a charm offensive featuring happy announcements in parts of the state that matter.
Hunter readers won't be surprised to learn that this strategy does not involve them to any extent whatever.
"The Powers That Be have requested all Ministers to visit the Central Coast and Wollongong between August 11 and August 22 (during the Olympics)," wrote a government staffer, plaintively requesting "story ideas for these locations".
Plenty of stories have emerged from both locations in recent times, notably those involving the former Education Minister John Della Bosca at Gosford's Iguanas Waterfront Bar and the sex and planning scandal at Wollongong. Indeed, both stories are continuing to fester away to the Government's detriment.
The emails reveal the Government is hoping to replace the negative headlines with something more friendly. "Another ports announcement" for Wollongong, perhaps, or "shop trading hours again".
Meanwhile, Mr Iemma is apparently on the hunt for interesting statistics to use for "radio ring arounds".
On one level the emails are hilarious, portraying a frantic search for good news in the midst of a slow-burning political disaster. On another, however, they are a sobering depiction of the level of farce to which government in NSW has finally descended.
Fair go for the refs
YOU can't blame Newcastle referees for blowing the whistle on Easts rugby union club. Referees said they'd had enough bad behaviour from a small number of players in the club's under-20s colts team. Easts felt aggrieved that the actions of a handful of youngsters put the club's first and second grade teams at risk of forfeit, but the referees had a fair point. The players concerned had to be shown that their unruliness wouldn't be tolerated. It was up to the club to lay down the law and if it required extra incentive to enforce proper behaviour among all its players then the referees were within their rights to supply that incentive.
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