Tis time to talk of mayoral matters, of Mooney, The Moaning Mullet and other facts and fantasy.

The scuttling behind those local government skirting boards is getting more frenetic, now that the next council election will be decided in old style divisions. The rumour mill has gone into overdrive, with the chance that Mooney and The Mullet will fight over the scraps of local Labor.

Also - and not unrelated - three former Townsville politicians to get life, and our quizzical quillman Bentley reckons the PM got the wrong dog for her 50th birthday during the week - all here in the Nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

Our man Bentley has been looking at the bigger picture, noting what he believes was an error in Canberra during the week. His take on the problems of pooches as presents speaks for itself.

Zooming back to our own turf, now here's something interesting that could affect our next council election.

In four weeks time, on October 29, former premier and all round good bloke Wayne Goss (those two descriptions rarely if ever go together) will be in Townsville for a state ALP hootenanny at the Aikenvale PCYC. The central feature of this knees-up will be the presentation of - or sentencing to, depending on your point of view - life membership of the party to former mayor His Radiance Tony Mooney. He will be one of three local luminaries to be so condemned - Mike Capt Snooze Reynolds will be gently nudged awake as he dozes in the sun on his Laz-E-boy and have the Iced VoVo crumbs brushed off before he also get his life membership. And so will last century's man Sponge Ken Cranky Pants McElligot - that is, if he can pause long enough in his rounds of community good works and vitriolic, bitter letter writing to The Astonisher.

Now what makes this interesting is the growing mutterings that His Radiance might be considering a comeback for mayoral office. He has a very well paid job with a coal company, but the latest scuttlebutt has it that he is yearning for the power-base of the mayoralty again (it is addictive, they say) to the extent that he would be willing to take the pay cut to get back in.

Mooney and mate. His Radiance is on the left.

It's  been unreliably suggested that he has been canvassing the wallets of folk like Lozza Lancini,  Richard 'Spiderman'  Ferry, Barry Big Bazza Taylor and others among the locally well-heeled. The idea seems to be that, even although he suffered what some believe was the greatest defeat of an incumbent mayor in Queensland local government history, if members of his former boy's club ante up the dosh in suitably daunting amounts, he'll seek to lead a Labor team into the fray next March. His problem is of course, his rich mates aren't idealistic dills, and didn't get rich by backing losers, so their views will be interesting. 

The Magpie idly wonders if, as the Goss hand anoints him with a top party honour,  will there there be a tear of nostalgia well up in the radiant eye, the merest tremor of a trembling lower lip - which these days we can see quite clearly -  and a stirring in the political loins that will tempt down the political path again. 

If the answer to that is yes, get your ringside tickets for a down and dirty dust-up that will make a cage fight look like morning tea with Quenny Bryce at Gov House. Because The Mullet is reported to have been going around with the begging bowl, trying to stitch up votes and cash for her run at the mayoral plush. She apparently hasn't been having much luck, and her superioty in party numbers locally is said to be on the wane, but she is reportedly resolute in having her own team up for the fray. With or without Labor blessing, it is said.

Now this is also interesting for another reason.

Politically speaking, The Moaning Mullet is well known to have always spoken with a forked tongue, especially when making the best use of her position as an honorary associate editor of the Townsville Bulletin. Indeed, it was in that august organ that this week she greeted the news that local elections were reverting back to divisions with the following gobsmacker: 'This now gives the advantage for community members to run for local government pushing out the 'team mentality.'

You old kidder, you, at this rate you'll be giving Wendy Harmer a run for her comedic money (although that wouldn't be too hard). 

Look, me old mullet, as you well know, the reason Labor was so desperate to get divisions back was because it is conventional political wisdom in local government that divisions always favour the best organised groups. Around here, the only one that meets that criterium is the ALP - sort of.  Any conservative elements out there are about as organised as Lady Gaga's wardrobe. (We'll look more closely at the non-Labor side of things when Farmer Les confirms he is pulling the pin - the scheduled September announcement has been delayed, presumably because Les has been laid up for a couple of weeks with a bad back).

But what now, if His Radiance is back in the fray? And with Labor's blessing? 

The Mullet has already been seen toying with 'doing a Mooney' and getting some alleged 'independents' onto a team. The 'Pie hears (not from him, by the way) that sex shop owner and former federal Democrat candidate Colin Edwards has been approached to join the Mullet Machine.

Sounds like both sides will be fighting over the rights for their campaign song to be the theme from M.A.S.H 'Suicide Is Painless'.  

In this political case, that also would be a lie.

Anyway, guess what? We should know in a matter of weeks who's seeking the mayoral gig, at least from the Labor side. A fortnight ago, ALP HQ in Brissy send out forms across Queensland requiring members seeking a tilt at the their local top job to declare their hand. The cut-off time for that form to be returned is this weekend. So in a couple of weeks, it will be known (at least to the backroom boys) who is interested. 

Maybe The Magpie might be able to let you know, too, since, as said here before, the Labor Party around here has more leaks than Dairy Farmers Stadium at half time on match night.

Enough now, it is away to Poseurs' Bar, perchance to bebubble a suitable companion and engage her in discussion about matters canine. Especially phrases involving the word 'doggy'.