Important Message For The Nation

On the day she has compared her struggle to relieve the Australian nation of it's mineral wealth to that of Nelson Mandela's fight in South Africa, the Shuttle's favourite billionaire Gina Rinehart has sent us an exclusive video with her Address To The Nation.
 Heed her words:

Letter from South Africa

There has been a spike in the past fortnight of visitors to these pages from South Africa- why?. we do not know. But here is something for them and all readers:
21 ICONS South Africa launches its third short film and portrait, featuring Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the tireless activist and social justice campaigner who, in Nelson Mandela’s words, symbolises “the voice of the voiceless”.  The previous two films have featured Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk.
In the film, Desmond Tutu talks to photographer and film director Adrian Steirn about his inspiration, his role since retirement and his view on his legacy. He tells him in his usual self-deprecating and humorous way: “What do I do? I am retired, so I don’t do anything. Well, I go around the world and try to remind people fairly straightforward things that we easily forget, like, yes, there is a lot of evil in the world, but there is also a lot of good. In fact, we are made for goodness, which is fantastic.

Sir David Frost on Julian Assange and Robert Kennedy

 David Frost spoke today of the most impressive person he had ever interviewed in his long career: The former US Senator Robert Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968 .

Robert Kennedy

"He was forthright, honest and had a keen intellect, one of the most truthful people I have ever interviewed" said Frost at a press conference he gave today in Sydney with the former British talk show host Michael Parkinson.

Parky & Frost

The pair are doing 2 shows at the Sydney Theatre this week where they interview each other and reveal some candid moments  interviewing some of the most famous people during their respective careers.

Both said Nelson Mandela was a interview subject they had both greatly admired. Frost who has concentrated on world leaders said that he found former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam to be a "towering intellect, possibly the most intellectual politician"' while Parkinson said that both he and Frost were fond of cricketer Shane Warne who he described as "a life enhancing force".

Of all the people he had loathed David Frost described the former head of the Hitler Youth League
Baldur von Schirach who served 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity as a "particular loathsome person".

von Schirach "loathsome"

"He had absolutely no regrets about his time as a Nazi and I shivered after the interview when he put his hand on my arm and with a twinkle in his eye said 'at 23 you were in charge of your own television show and at 23 I was in charge of the Hitler Youth-you see we really aren't so different! ' "

On Julian Assange who Frost has just interviewed and Wikileaks he said: "I was expecting a fairly soul-less person but I was pleasantly surprised and liked him by the end of the interview".

Asked what he thought about Assange's release of secret cables Frost said:
"it hasn't been proved that anyone has been harmed by them and they have exposed serious crimes. It's the sort of thing journalists should be doing".

Parkinson and Frost said that research and preparation was the most important aspect of interviewing any person with Parkinson giving the ABC interviewer Andrew Denton as a great example of a young interviewer of today who gets the most out of his subject.

And they weren't giving much away about what their two man show will be about :
"I'm still working out things to ask Michael "said Frost."In fact this press conference has given me some new ideas".
"I think David will turn out to be my favourite interview subject of all time " responded Parkinson.

To book for Parky And Frost. Two Nights Only Tues 8th Feb & Wed 9th Feb go to this website.

Here is David Frost and part of his famous interview with Richard Nixon:

just another balmy day in Sydney...

The perfect start to a warm sunny spring day with a light breeze. Breakfast at Doyles with former chat-show king Michael Parkinson. 

In Watson's Bay with it's boardwalk lined with weatherboard houses-Doyles gives the feeling of a Mediterranean fishing village cafe. It was where the legendary Marlene Dietrich dined before she appeared on stage one night at the Theatre Royal in 1972, promptly fell over mid-song and broke her leg which not only ended the cabaret but the great Marlene's stage career forever.

Parkinson is as amusing and interesting as any of the guests who appeared on his show. He doesn't mind he may always be remembered for Rod Hull and the Emu incident or the Meg Ryan debacle."Part of the territory" he says. Asked what went wrong between he and Ryan, Parky has a quick answer-"it was hate at first sight and went downhill from then on".

2 of Parkinson's favourite interview subjects were Dame Edna Everage and the late Kenneth Williams : "both made an interviewer's job so easy-one could sit back and let them do all the work".
He related the tale of when he, Kenneth and the late Marti Caine were invited by Lady Hardy to go on a Sydney Harbour cruise aboard an ancient clipper. A proper boat as opposed to the gigantic gin palaces that now blight the docksides.

" I'd warned them both it was a sailing boat-not a cocktail cruise. Marti turned up in 6 inch stilettoes and Kenneth wore a suit, a homburg and a mac. He spent the next 3 hours shivering in the cold wind and complaining about his piles" .

His most satisfying interview-Nelson Mandela who he travelled to South Africa to interview. "I couldn't have the president walking down that staircase on the show like he was a celebrity" says Parky.

He won't name the few stars whose interviews were nipped in the bud just as they were about to appear-totally written off. But he did cope with a stoned Robert Mitchum, and a drunken Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland . Sutherland apologized 20 years later.

And his very first interview for TV in Manchester ?. A young Mick Jagger who reckoned he had about one year to make the most of his rock career-as long as Parky thought he himself may last.

Parkinson's reason for his cool manner during interviews-"sheer terror "!. He doesn't miss being on television and he doesn't miss 'modern ' celebrity and says he wouldn't touch reality stars with a barge poll. This weekend he gives the keynote address at a journalism conference.

"Ironic" says Parkinson,"especially as I know less about the business than I did 40 years ago. But I'll muddle through ".

Michael Parkinson's "the One-Man Show" begins in Melbourne on Monday 12th October. Bookings at the Arts Centre. 
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And so to a light lunch at our favourite Manta Restaurant on Woollooomooloo Wharf. It's strangely quiet for mid-day, mid-week. Except for one table looking alarmingly like the Last Supper.

It's new 'media personality' Mick Gatto and associates. Mick has been doing the rounds of the chat shows to promote his auto-biography (see below). As I took a snap and eyed the small gold mine adorning his wrists and fingers he kindly gave me a quick rundown-'Cartier, Versace and Bulgari" he said beaming. 

Mick Gatto (centre) with friends (c)

Mick's a pretty friendly bloke for someone who the National Crime Commission says is a figure behind organized crime and may have been involved in a few murders." Would you like a copy of my book" he asked ?."I declined."Never much time to read" I replied as Gatto's pals eyed me suspiciously.

I made my excuses and left.