Silly season

Annabel Crabb isn't The Chaser, and nor is she a press gallery journalist. She isn't even Matt Price. In this article she had the field to herself and could show us what we can expect from the new Rudd Government.

Mr Rudd's last day of holidays yesterday was spent not as an ordinary person might spend such a day (lying about morosely wondering if there is anything clean to wear to work)

See, it's Annabel that's normal, and everyone else that's abnormal.

Whales also have turned out to be a problem ... How has this happened?

Did they, pet? All that argy-bargy with the Japanese government over the past year hasn't registered at all, the very idea that something like that might have longterm consequences.

When you're a journalist, you follow through on those longterm issues, consult widely and see how the issue pans out, rather than being like a goldfish in a constant state of surprise that you'd hope your readers might share.

On Friday Mr Garrett was flown to Antarctica amid some pomp and ceremony aboard the first passenger flight to the frozen continent.

What pomp, what ceremony? What did he do there? Was the trip a waste of time? What will happen as a result of the flights to Antarctica? It's not as though this kind of stuff is beneath you.

But he found his way back.

Fnaar!

In the coming weeks Mr Rudd must also make headway on the rationalisation of the national health system, and on the drafting of a cut-price apology to the Aboriginal stolen generation.

The government has been in office for two months now and quite a lot has gone on regarding these and other issues. I'm amazed and how little investigation there has been of this: it's not as though everyone in the new government has been out sunning themselves. Perhaps the fact that so few ministers have appointed press secs is a good thing, in cutting out hype and bumf. However, for journalists who are clearly over-reliant in being hand-fed stories, and most importantly for the wider public, we are largely at a loss to determine what sort of government we've landed ourselves with. Julia Gillard's slip-up is only funny if it's an aberration.

Any indications about what might come out of the health ministers' conference, who's got what agendas? No? What about follow-through from Bali, nothing?

Why would you bother getting insider access if this is all you can do with it? It's not a matter of using your powers for good instead of evil, use your powers for good instead of piffle.