The Mullet gets her man – albeit a recycled Mooney man. And have we seen the start of a ‘jobs for the boys’ political payback from the LNP, too? There are some juicy appointments floating about the place, but will the right people get them?

We also look at the inventive language of The Daily Astonisher aka the Townsville Bulletin – not content with making up stories, now the Ogden Street munchkins are making up language.

And that wicked doodler Bentley has a new – and most appropriate – nick-name for Premier Newman (hmmm, Premier Newman…  somehow, still doesn’t sound right, does it?), and a couple of eye-boggling headlines from the around the place, all in here in the nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

Townsville gets a Shogun, a powerful figure behind the ceremonial mayoral throne - and on the national scene, Bill ’The Short ‘Un’ Shorten’s strange attempts to short-circuit rumors of an affair only cranks up the voltage,

Yes, as predicted, it appears the Ego has crash-landed in Walker Street with Jenny The Moaning Mullet Hill losing her very first power play as mayor, just an hour after being sworn in. The Magpie ponders on a situation which, looking at the next four years, reminds him of Bette Davis’s famous line ‘Fasten your seatbelts, it going to be a bumpy night’.


What Bill Shorten didn't say .... 

And those racy teases - the accidental on-air naughtiness of  ABC radio.

All here with other stuff in this week’s nest at www.townvillemagpie.com.au

The Mullet’s mangled maths – the M word mystifying the Daily Astonisher is ‘mandate’. And Treasurer Goose accidentally tells a truth.

And there has been some intriguing scrabbling behind the political skirting boards as crucial horse-trading for the powerful deputy doo-dah’s position on the TCC shows all the potential to turn nasty.

And how Townsville dodged a business bullet – big time – the latest chapter in Craig Gore’s rorting career was played out in court yesterday.

Also Bentley is at his brilliant best when he sums up the week’s main story, that of the Battler’s Budget.

All here with other bits of inconsequential blather in this week’s nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

This week, The Magpie talks of fellow creatures great and small, of lame ducks and mullets, of dark horses and of a certain dumbo jumbo.

So, it seems the ego has landed in Walker Street and The Mullet’s Mayoralty has (unofficially) started, but will she be a lame duck mayor? The behind-the-scenes power tussle that really counts has only just begun, as the conservative councillors start jockeying for the now all-powerful position of deputy doo-dah.  

The Magpie has some inside running on that contest, AND AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF VERY SPECIAL WORK OF ART DEDICATED TO THE TOWNSVILLE COMMUNITY THAT HAS GONE OVERSEAS.

In other matters, Federal boof-in-residence Herbert MP Ewen Jones still fails to grasp the First Rule Of Holes: when you’re in one, stop digging. But The ‘Pie lets him have his say.

And in the Told Ya So Department, The ‘Pie modestly refers readers to his idle speculation made a couple of weeks ago about the Slipper/Ashby affair: was it a set-up from the start? Looking more like it.

All this, and a beaut Bentley cartoon to boot, in this week’s nest www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

Who is going to be the REAL mayor of Townsville? Won’t be he Mullet, that’s for sure. And The Magpie’s occasional Rat With A Gold Tooth award for barefaced and stupid political treachery goes to our federal MP Ewen Jones.

The Townsville version of the tribe that lost its head raises a lot of questions  – that is, Dale Last’s tribe will have a handsome conservative majority on council, but by the looks of things right now, Dale himself won’t be there. The ‘Pie looks at the intriguing implications.

And The Astonisher’s losing battle with getting names correct has continued, but this time, what hope when even the editor can’t get a well-known name right?

All here in this special edition of mid-week drivel at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au