And yes, old bean old sausage, yes they do. Silly old moi.

Nabs, we say “public”, they say “private”. Same dif. Why we call some private schools “public” is a bit of a mystery.

This was English terminology.

A “public” school, like Eton etc., was an alternative to a “private” education at home with tutors. Thus, the term “public” accurately defined the difference between a school and a tutor.

This terminology transplanted readily as an affectation into 19th-century Australian soil. The oldest Australian private schools dubbed theselves “public” schools. Parvenue private schools began and remained as private schools.

Jus’ sayin’.

Oh, you say “private,” and I say “public.”
And you say “Kubrick,” while I say “Kubbrick.”
“Rubric!” “Rubbric!”
“Kubrick!” “I’m an idiot!”
Let’s definitely call the whole thing off…

Golly gosh, I must get my butler to sort it out, he’s frightfully good on the old Goggle on the computer thingy. My aide-de-camp just resigned, so I won’t get any help from that quarter. Rum business all round. See you at luncheon?

You mean “public school” don’t you, old fruit?

Mark @2: “….while Dolly has spent all his time lunching, golfing, and sorting out his next career move.”

Wayne Goss spent an entire term lunching, golfing, sorting out his next career move, etc. (just sayin’)

Australian Electoral Comission website http://www.aec.gov.au

I’m also pretty annoyed that no-one’s quoted Downer on saying that he’d stay the full term even if the Coalition lost - but I think that might have been an interview with the local paper (the Courier). The people that run that (it’s one extended family) are profoundly pro-Liberal and pro-Downer, so they probably wouldn’t be trotting it out unless a larger media outlet quoted them.

I’m a bit disappointed I’m not actually in Oz any more (moved all of 3 weeks ago) to look at the reaction in the Hills and Fleurieu close-up.

btw, anyone know if/how I vote? Do I have to register at the Australian embassy in my current country of residence?

A bit harsh, Dr Cat.

Yeah, yeah.

It was largely Foley’s fault, certainly (*self-censors a few true but defamatory remarks about Foley*), but the chief culprit was probably fixer Tom Koutsantonis. The thing about Cornes herself is that the very fact that she didn’t have the brains to say ‘No, I’m not up to it’ indicated to most of us that she wasn’t up to it, and those of us who might still have been in doubt doubted no longer after she demonstrated her judgement by choosing to wear the dress in the linked photo to a dinner at Government House, saying later that she’d worn it to lots of other functions and clearly not aware that bingo and raffle night for the Crows A-Listers isn’t quite the same as a vice-regal do. Mostly, however, it was more of a Bambi-in-the-headlights situation.

Sorry to spit, but I am Bitter. I hated seeing them lose that seat so needlessly. Also, mostly I love living in Adders, but when it comes to this kind of farcical misjudgement I’m unpleasantly reminded that I live in a town where the soi-disant upper crust largely consists of superannuated footballers, people who used to be on local TV, and retired third cousins of the Downers.

And yes, a decent candidate could have won it easily.

A bit harsh, Dr Cat.

I was at an election-night party and one of the guests, a Labor bloke, blamed that particular debacle on Kevin fuckin’ Foley. He wasn’t happy. He reckoned a decent candidate might’ve won.

Dolly Does Danger.

Just cross your fingers, Mayonians, and hope you don’t get “ute man” ads like we endured in Gippsland. No, of course you won’t. They’d feature “der Hahndorf Mann” or “the Bollinger Lady”, non?

La Pavlova informed non-Adelaideans that: “Evans looks like exactly what he is, an unhealthily preserved private schoolboy”. I had to read that twice. I thought you was describing Dolly.

It’s interesting people usually note this contribution of John Schumann to the Democrats’ history, rather than his role advising Meg Lees about the strategic wisdom of agreeing to the GST, and his role in advising on the public selling of that agreement with John Howard. I also found it hard not to notice his many articles and interviews personally attacking various Democrats and the Democrats’ efforts in general ever since, but that’s probably just me.

I’ve noted those other contributions, in a letter to the Australian during the GST debate, and in the following lines:

I love to read the Bulletin and watch the ABC
I love to leak out sh*t about Natasha constantly
All the boutique foods I buy won’t have a GST
So come and sing the Renegade Lefty I’ve Got A Job With Meg Lees Rag with me.