pure and applied: politics

ABC TV's late night current affairs show Lateline has lately become my favourite night-time viewing. Never had I thought I'd become a late-night daily-wrap show junkie, but life is full of surprises.

It could be because I just don't have time to sit down and watch the news, but actually I'm finding the unflappable Tony Jones just a remarkably watchable, cogent and credible journalist. His balanced approach, sprightly wit, wry responses, sharp-as-a-tack tackles are just a joy to behold. For all these reasons it's just great watching him put some of our politicians through memorable grillings.

One such session to remember was last night's interview with Julia Gillard and Tony Abbot. After Tony's diabolically bad day on the hustings it was a surprise to see him still valiantly running the ball up after dark.

TONY JONES: Tony Abbott, let's start with you, and where your problems began. What possessed you to launch a personal attack on Bernie Banton? That was bonkers, wasn't it?

TONY ABBOTT: It was a mistake...

TONY JONES: Was it bonkers?

TONY ABBOTT: It was an error of judgement on my part, I shouldn't have done it, and as soon as I realised what I had done, I rang him this morning and I apologised.

TONY JONES: As soon as you realised what you'd done, that's sometime after you did it, presumably?

TONY ABBOTT: Look, yesterday was...

TONY JONES: As soon as someone made you realise...

TONY ABBOTT: No, no, no, no, no, no, look, I didn't need to be told, once I saw it in black and white in the paper the next morning, I though, 'No, this is a problem, I'd better call him up and apologise.'

TONY JONES: It is a problem. The Health Minister insulting a dying man who is trying to get better access to expensive drugs to treat mesothelioma sufferers. But what I want to ask you here, it's such a bad look, did you actually consider resigning your portfolio today?

Tony Abbot is a politician who's shown himself given to ill-considered and peevish outbursts. Of course I must confess a partisan preference and so I enjoyed Gillard's pointed asides:

JULIA GILLARD: Tony, can I just say I think Tony Abbott here has lost touch with civility and he's lost touch with reality. What we have said is that we will invest $600 million in getting through the waiting lists, people who are being required to wait for more than the clinically appropriate times. We don't want to see elderly Australians waiting for a hip replacement for longer than they should. So we are going to invest to get it done.

The Howard Government hasn't done anything to match Labor's plan. If we look at what they've said in health, they haven't got a plan in this campaign and they haven't had a plan for the national health system...

TONY ABBOTT: Who is being uncivil now? I mean really, and truly.

JULIA GILLARD: I'm not swearing at you, Tony, that's for sure. The Howard Government doesn't have a plan for every hospital in Australia. We do. They have a plan for one hospital and it's degenerated into a shambles. If this is the template for their reform, the Mersey Hospital, we have to conclude that reform will be a shambles.

Download the video from the archive, and here's the rest of the transcript where you can find out if Abott considered resigning or not.

As a sideline - Tony Jones' suits are always sharp (except that badly-fitting dark one two weeks ago), and his hair has a silver sheen not seen since Bob Hawke's time in the spotlight. He looks the business.

Link: Lateline - 31/10/2007: Abbott, Gillard discuss health debate.