The state politician Paul McLeay single-handedly shot his political career in the foot last month after an audit of parliamentary computers found he was a peruser of pornography. Premier Kristina Keneally sacked him as Minister for Ports when his extra-curricular activity became public. McLeay fessed up to being ''humiliated and embarrassed'' after telling the three women in his life of his situation - his wife Cassandra Wilkinson (who works in Keneally's office), Keneally herself and his mother, in that order, and walked the plank. Along with Graham West, David Campbell and Ian Macdonald, and the parliamentary secretary Karyn Paluzzano, McLeay was the fourth government minister to resign since Keneally's reign began last December. With the election looming, other MPs may be rushing for the doors and their superannuation, but not McLeay. Yesterday he tweeted he would stay on: ''my nomination for ALP candidate for Heathcote was received. confirmed. I am unopposed. Now, on with the job.'' Which of course begs the question what atrocity or stupidity is enough to lose Labor preselection in NSW. Fortunately for McLeay, his political breeding insulates him from harm. His father Leo, a NSW Right heavy, was a federal politician for 26 years and is mainly remembered for the $60,000 he trousered in 1990 after suing federal Parliament for letting him ride a hired pushbike. Unlike McLeay the Younger's recent foot injury, McLeay the Elder suffered a broken arm but no damage to his political career.
BACK ON THE BOX
Barely had we recovered from contemplating life without Kerry O'Brien at The 7.30 Report when we find he has an afterlife, anchoring Four Corners. O'Brien worked on the program as a reporter in the 1970s and the 1980s. . ''His skills as a presenter and interviewer will give us added flexibility and depth in the studio,'' says Sue Spencer. So who gets O'Brien's old gig? Annabel Crabb and Chris Uhlmann have been screen-tested as possible twin anchors. Tony Jones is interested but wants to keep steering Q&A, while Lateline's Leigh Sales is a candidate preferred from on high.
AIR TRAFFIC
Planes, trains and automobiles have not always had a smooth run in Sydney. Nor have ferries. Or bicycles. And so innovative minds look for other modes of transport. An independent Blacktown councillor, Russ Dickens, is thinking helicopters. He wants a helipad built out west for a faster commute to the city and airport. ''Why not? Who could be against it,'' he asked Diary, insisting a commercial flight was only marginally more expensive than the $130 cab ride. ''Into the future, you'll see people putting little jet things on their backs and flying everywhere,'' he said. A spokeswoman said nothing official had gone to council. Closer to town, Ian Brookfield has something else in mind: hovercrafts. He told The Manly Daily he expects to have a fleet on the water by December, despite the fact he hasn't lodged any proposal with the government. The only comment on the newspaper's website noted, like Dickens, that the future was in the air. ''I also believe there will be a fleet of pink flying pigs on Sydney harbour,'' Steve wrote.
HOT SHOT KENNETT
The former school cadet Jeff Kennett was conscripted into the army in 1968 so he knows a gunshot when he hears one. Yesterday, the former Victorian premier revealed he was shot at twice during his political career. In 1996, Kennett was negotiating to pinch the grand prix from Adelaide when the assassination shots rang out. ''I heard it once when I was on my own when I was walking the street … the other time was a little more frightening because I was in an environment where I wasn't comfortable,'' he told Fairfax Radio. ''It was very close because I heard one of them, and given my army training I knew what it was.'' Victorian politicians are used to gunplay. Long before Underbelly made shooting seem an heroic Melbourne pastime, politicians had rifle placement slits installed high on the front of the Victorian Parliament to shoot rebellious members of the public.
A BIG DAY FOR UNDERGROUND: THE MOVIE
Thirty-three men trapped 700 metres down for two months, a president with the tongue of an epic poet, a wife and a mistress at 10 paces and a ‘‘pledge of silence’’ over what went on in the first 17 days when, feeling abandoned with no hope, God and the devil fought for their souls – the Chilean Mine Rescue 2010 is a movie waiting to happen. The men themselves are not unaware their story is perfect for Hollywood and long before they were rescued had asked a lawyer to draw up contracts ensuring they all shared the cornucopia of cash from books, movies and interviews. ‘‘Javier Bardem is being lined up to star in a movie about the trapped Chilean miners,” Sky News reports. Others speculate he would be ideal for the Chilean President, Sebastian Pinera. Antonio Banderas is favoured for the role of the ‘‘cheating Chilean’’, Yonni Barrios, with Penelope Cruz playing his ‘‘long-suffering wife’’ and Salma Hayek as his ‘‘mistress’’. Harrison Ford is a shoo-in for foreman Luis Urzua who organised everyone and was the last of the rescued to leave the mine, while Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson is being mooted for Mario Sepulveda, the second miner out who delivered the deathless quote: ‘‘I was with God and with the devil – and God took me.’’
STAY IN TOUCH...
WITH BOLLYWOOD FLOPS
AN INDIAN film dealing with racial tensions in Melbourne has flopped at the country's box office, following scathing reviews by local critics. In fact, Crook: It's Good to be Bad was so bad, Hindustan Times reports, that the production company's co-owner, Mahesh Bhatt, admitted as much on Twitter: '''Mourning' the debacle of Crook. Looking at failure in the eye is a must for entertainers. Never duck the harsh verdict of the audience." The $3 million film, set in Melbourne but partly filmed in South Africa, was inspired by a spate of attacks against Indian students in the city last year - but it also delves into honour killings and controversially involves a topless scene. It tells the story of a young Indian chancer, Jai Dixit (Emraan Hashmi) who arrives in Australia on a fake visa to find a city beset by racial conflict. When tensions reach boiling point Dixit opts to join his love interest and radio host Suhani (Neha Sharma) in her fight to rid the country of racism. Noble intentions or not, the critics blasted it as insensitive and simplistic.
''It displays beer-guzzling Australians and Scotch-gulping Punjabis - stereotypes galore,'' wrote bollywoodspice.com. India Today denounced its plot, which includes a loose Melbourne woman, as sensationalist. ''Naturally she is blonde and has big you-know-whats. There is an Australian man, her brother Russell, who goes around hitting and bullying Indians. There is no other word for it. It's terrible,'' the magazine said.
WITH JOKING SCOTSMEN
THE Scottish comedian Billy Connolly emerged as a potential guest star at yesterday’s Delhi Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. The Diary’s spies in the Indian capital reported that several other names, including those of the jolly singing dumpling Susan Boyle and the rock corpse Rod Stewart, were mentioned by those in the know. All three are famous Scots (well, Stewart’s dad was Scottish), and Scotland’s capital, Glasgow, will host the next Commonwealth Games in 2014. Book early to avoid disappointment. Meanwhile, Connolly plans to take time out of his coming Australian tour to indulge in a personal passion – fishing. The Diary’s spies told the Herald’s Michael Idato the flying Scotsman would take a break between the Melbourne and Sydney legs of his national comedy tour to go fishing alone in Tasmania. Connolly is apparently a keen angler, even turning up to open the salmon season on the River Dee in Scotland this year. At the time, he said he preferred fishing in a solitary environment for the peace and quiet. ‘‘In Scotland you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fat businessmen. It’s not my idea of a laugh.’’ Connolly starts his tour in Melbourne in January. He is performing in Sydney from February 27 to March 8 at the Opera House.
GOT A TIP? Contact diary@smh.com.au or 92822372.
