Beware of those who - flush with achieving their personal definitions of success - and whom have complete media management 101 grow at least 7 inches in height in a short time, and answer every question whilst giving away nothing.

ABC’s Kerry O’Brien said recently that 20 or 30 years ago - when he was a young journalist..that finding an absolute truth was not only the mission - but relatively easy to achieve. Values around honesty were common then.

Now, politiicans have learned to answer questions without providing answers, and to advise position without declaring it, and to avoid the truth without uttering lies.

A brilliant example of this at work is the new Apple computer ads, where the PC has a PR person. Watch them - they are like the politics of Tasmania. In these ads, the PC character talks about Vista customers retrating to older and earlier versions of Windows because Vista was so unstable. The PR person for the PC reinterprets that as “early adopters upgrading to a more stable platform”. The copywriter is worth their weight in gold.

What is missing in all cases is the absence of integrity and the avoidance of truth and leadership.

If the former premier was the equivalent of an intellectual and political wombat - perhaps a benefit was that he was so without polish. What he did and said was transparent. We knew what he didnt want people to know. He couldnt help himself.

But to this new boy.

Beware of new kings offering boxes of nothing and using learned and purchased language from masterful spin doctors.

The air in the chamber and its odor have not changed.

All that has changed is a jester has left the court.

The piles of excrement still remain smelling in the corners.

When the new pup actually starts reporting to the people of Tasmania on the changes he has made, instead of the promises he wants to sell, and when affable friendly emotional reassurance is replaced with a list of ‘jobs completed and well done’  then perhaps, and only then can there be any credibility to this busted jalopy in Tasmania, so embarrassingly called government.

I have to disagree with Richard (1).  It is priceless for Bartlett to announce that from this day forward PS appointments will be on merit alone, while flanked by the head of his department appointed by himself the day before, after an “elongated and thorough merit based” search, taking all of two days!  The image might be just symbolic of the Labour culture, but boy it is dumb.  Lennon was simply arrogant and out of touch, Bartlett to date seems way out of his debt, and plain stupid.

A brief reminder about the public meeting, called by the Widerness Society, on the subject of ‘Gunns Pulp Mill Pipeline.’

Tailrace Centre, West Tamar Hwy, Riverside.

Tuesday 10th June at 6.30 pm.