Bushranger

Politician travel costs soar

PRIMARY Industry Minister Paul Kirby and a staffer are in Indonesia on business. Cost of return airfares for he and a staffer are $9312. Two senior public servants are also on the Indonesia trip. Their airfares are $5719.50. Can’t help but wonder why the massive difference in airfare costs. Chief Minister Mi

chael Gunner, Mr Kirby and three key staffers flew to Shenzhen in China recently and the airfares for the five of them came to $17,100.

Mills team is taking shape

LOTS of gossip getting around town about who former chief Terry Mills has signed up to be his party’s Territory Alliance candidates. A well-known police officer, who Bushie has chosen not to name at this stage, is believed to have been signed, sealed and delivered. Watch this space.

Know your employees

OUR friends over at ABC Darwin may have some explaining to do to one of their reporters after misspelling her name on a story. Court and crime reporter Melissa Mackay may have reason to talk to her graphics editors after a super on her story, announcing Jamie Chalker as the new NT police commissioner, named her as Melissa McKay. While Mackay has only been with ABC for a couple of months, her time in the Territory dates back to 2017, meaning her name should be familiar enough to her colleagues.

Downpour of idiots

DARWIN had some spectacular downpours this week. The moment the first raindrops were felt, people took to social media to express their excitement for the showers. There was an overwhelming number of status updates to the point that one popular Territory meme page vented its frustrations to every local and their nan with: “THANKS MATE, HAD ALL MY WINDOWS REMOVED LAST WEEK WOULD HAVE HAD NO IDEA IT WAS RAINING WITHOUT YOU.”

Friends to political foes

ON the politics front, things are heating up in the seat of Fannie Bay in more ways than one. Former cattlemen’s boss Tracey

Hayes will run for the CLP and take on Chief Minister Michael Gunner in next year’s election. Word on the street is that the chief minister has cancelled an end-of-year holiday so he can connect more with his electorate. Bushie has also heard Gunner’s wife, ABC journo Kristy O’Brien, was none too pleased when she found out Hayes, who attended their wedding, was taking on her husband. Let’s just say it didn’t go down well with KOB.

Drowning out the message

TOURISM Minister Lauren Moss and Primary Industries Minister Paul Kirby were in the middle of spruiking the Tropical Light exhibit to the media this week when the sprinklers went off in Civic Park, drenching everyone at the press conference. Flustered public servants ushered their ministers off the lawns and spent the next 10 minutes on the end of an annoyed phone call to council, asking them to turn the water off.