Birthday News

Did anyone know that former Treasurer and Deputy PM Wayne Swann was an old rocker at heart?.
We knew he was a surfer in his young days living in sunny Queensland and still regularly hits the waves with his board and wetsuit but we have pleasure in outing the backbencher as a card carrying & bandanna wearing Bruce Springsteen fan.
Yesterday Wayne celebrated his 60th and as our exclusive snap shows  good pal and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard dropped by to celebrate and bop away to Wayne's surprise gift from friends, a concert by The Springsteen Experience.

We think bandanna wearing should be encouraged to loosen up the House of Reps and have forwarded a communique to our pal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop MP. Failing that we may lobby Clive Palmer MP . He should be up for it.

Below is a video of The Springsteen Experience in action. Gosh, aren't they good!

( although we think a few drinks beforehand may help aid that experience)

Capt.Clive of The Titanic 11

Just when politics was getting boring with the 'scandals' surrounding Speaker Peter Slipper allegedly sexually harassing a male staffer and Labor's Craig Thompson resigning over endless claims a union credit card was used at the Sydney bordello A Touch Of Class having gone off the boil.

Now, comes news that our favourite mining billionaire the portly Clive Palmer has set up a new shipping company called Blue Star Line and the announcement that he has commissioned a Chinese shipping company to build a replica Titanic for his tourism company and that he will stand at the next Federal election for the seat of Treasurer Wayne Swann.

Palmer worth a reputed $4B was the mastermind of a campaign in 2009 to scupper then PM Kevin Rudd's plans for a mining tax that would raise a billion dollars a year. Along with fellow mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, Palmer held a rally in a Perth park claiming the tax would be the ruin of us all. After his success in watering down the tax he celebrated by buying 55 favored employees each a new Mercedes SUV  for Christmas.

Palmer says the Titanic 11 will be 'unsinkable' and that "you don't have to be too clever to be a politician"!. Quite.