ONE CHIEF TO RULE THEM ALL

All eyes in Parliament are on the journalists employed by the three Fairfax mastheads, the DomPost, Sunday Star Times and the Christchurch Press. Fairfax is to chuck them all in one room in the Gallery and appoint a bureau chief from among the current staff- or possibly appoint from outside the organisation.

The days of serious competition between the Dead Tree Press papers will undoubtedly disappear.

The reasonably recently arrived Aussie scribe who took up the political editorship at the Sunday Star Times is apparently seriously miffed at the change in circumstances which means he may lose some status in the musical chairs game that's about to play out.

Apparently there is a book running in the round house on who is the front runner is of the two main contenders - Tracy Watkins of the DomPost and the ginga from Christchurch Colin Espiner. The good money is on Espiner who is a good mate of Paul Thompson, Group Executive Editor, one of the favoured few in the Fairfax managerial stable.

A parliamentary insider reckon the reshuffle wont make bugger all difference to the quality of the column inches produced by Fairfax. Apparently, corridor stops - designed to get quick sound bites to populate ever hungry online new sites are now the staple for parliamentary journalists. No real investigation, no having deep and meaningfuls with Minsters and MP's and bugger all OIA's. They just follow up on the ones the opposition churn out.

Sad Really.

No doubt this will all be a hot topic at the impending nuptials of the old southern media curmudgeon Barry Soper and his youthful bride Heather du Plessis - Allan.

IMPOUND THEIR CARS

We liked it that the new police Minister rang one of her frontline troops to check how he was after the police took a battering from boy racers in Christchurch.

We like the Cease and Desist idea which would give the police more power to deal to these hooligans.

We like the idea of cars being confiscated and crushed immediately

We also like the idea of cellphones being confiscated as well.

Go Judith. Get it sorted. Give em Hell.

SOUTHERN GINGA IS GOING TO EAT HIS WORDS

A hat tip to -Doug. It appears the well respected political scribe from the South has to eat his words. We are happy to provide the waipiro and kai and the wharenui to ensure that he carries out his pledge. email bustedblonde@gmail.com to get details. Other gallery members and media commentators invited on request.

UPDATE - Espiner has risen to the challenge ! well done!

From Colin Espiner Blog
maori-national coalition - no chance

I’ll go further. I’ll say this: the Maori Party will not go into a coalition government with National. If I’m proved wrong after the election, I’ll print out this blog and eat it, live on webcam.

We are delighted he was wrong.

The thing is there were only four things we really wanted - Labour gone, Winston gone, a corruption inquiry into fish, but most of all we wanted Maori to work with National and turn their back on a political past that has held them back and left so many of them struggling to crawl out of the welfare ditch of despair.

And congratulations to the negotiating teams from Maori and National parties for showing that when time is of the essence you can get the job done quickly. Tino pai!