Mood:
don't askTopic: nsw govt
We wonder about Michael Costa Treasurer of NSW due to give the next NSW Budget speech on June 20th: NSW State Budget Lunch 2007 - CEDA
We noticed the increasingly rotund and rambling state of mind of the treasurer in the Upper House Question Time 8 days ago, effecting the nonchalance of a political assassin who fears no one and nothing and thus seems somehow a little careless.
But it's pretty dangerous it seems to us living and working in a chaotic zoo like NSW politics even for Costa. Might be a rampaging fang toothed Gibbon, or Kodiak Bear on the prowl at any time. We wrote of that slightly bizarre wild atmosphere up there at Macquarie St a week back here:
We get the intuition Costa may get a shock within the next 5 weeks. Politics is a frighteningly random and dangerous business really and those who live by, quite often die by the same ruthless play. Look at Chief of the DPP here just doing his job copping a fearsome flogging in the press:
Then look at these two hapless ASIO agents being prosecuted for allegedly leaking (?!), who must feel like they are lions on the main course in the Coloseum of old. Why the reporting restrictions? Why indeed has Chris Merritt the legal editor at The Australian and a seriously heavy journalist, formerly with the Australian Financial Review whacked this postage stamp story on p5 of The Weekend Australian. Heaven knows:
We bought the postcard of the Roma icon at right from the junk stall at Addison Rd Centre Market last Sunday to send to the thinking man's crumpet. Sure enough she has a column today about public/private censorship in today's press refering to "exotic fauna" - ironic really coming from the unique Liz Farrelly - and also "ancient Rome". Perfect.
And the apprehension by the coppers of a quite different Mediteranean type Tony Mokbel all seemed to gel together with Mr Costa, not for any illegal shipping on the latter's part. No totally legal coal export is Costa's game but he also has that cavalier style in his politics bragging 8 days ago to the 3 Green MPs how his dark suit was "the colour of coal", as if climate change was a figment.
It's probably easy for Costa, Premier Iemma with him, PM Howard too, to think it's only the economy that matters when people around them are pandering to their ego as per this cover of the Sydney Writer's Festival broadsheet #1 of 4, with Morris in the middle:
It's all enough to make us feel like the frog in this picture below for newsletter #2, one per day for the 4 day event, or the kid in this YouTube classic being chased by the wolf.
And not just me. Costa might consider just how many wolves there are in the legal fraternity when he attacks one of their own like Cowdery ... for doing his job. Lawyer Greg Barnes gave a clue to the anger within these halls of serious money and power yesterday on the crikey.com.au ezine. Nor would I think that's the end of the matter if I have any sense of my own legal profession here. Some serious hard cases in there the equal of one Michael Costa.
