Liberals yearn for leadership

LIBERAL staff and MPs despair about their prospects of winning the next election and continue to canvas leadership alternatives to Malcolm Turnbull.

Tap, Tap, Tap: How's This For A Qwerty Little Collection?

THE COLLECTORS 8pm, ABC1: Robert Messenger needs only another 999,400 typewriters and a million stenographic monkeys before he can have a crack at fluking the works of Shakespeare in the ultimate experiment involving chance. Of course the other factor is a million-year time frame so, really, Messenger's collection of 600 vintage typewriters is all but useless in the greater scheme of things. But as a scribe with The Canberra Times, his unusual collection may inspire bold cost-cutting initiatives ...

Delivery Van Fits The Bill For Mobile Bill

ALWAYS thinking of the little people, that's working-class hero Bill Shorten. The Maribyrnong MP has an office in Canberra - the city where public servants never sleep - he has an electoral office in Moonee Ponds and now a "Pope-mobile" (below) to spread the word according to Bill. The van is parked at the City of Moonee Valley's depot in Holmes Road, a few kilometres from his electoral office, but before his constituents wonder how they, too, can score a parking spot at the council depot, busy ...

An Open Letter From The Prime Minister

Mr K. Rudd The Lodge On the busy road CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Memo to: GFONLG (Glamorous Friends of the New Labor Government)

Favourite Things

ASIO file In 2003, Mary Hammond went to Canberra to ask for her ASIO file. She was given 41 pages tracking her moves as a Communist Party member and social realist artist between 1952 and 1972. Initially Hammond - then Mary Lubica Zuvela - had no idea she was being spied on, but later, during Vietnam War protests, the demonstrators used to play "spot the ASIO bloke". Her one real run-in with the law is duly noted in her file: she was "prosecuted and fined for posting Communist literature on ...

Of Dashed Hopes And Shattered Colossi

Scene: Liberal Party headquarters, Canberra. The roof has collapsed, squatters have covered the walls in graffiti. Two ragged figures huddle in a corner. A statue of Robert Menzies used to grace the lawn outside, but now only the legs remain visible through a broken window. Beside it, on the ground, a shattered visage lies, whose frown and whopper eyebrows and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, etc etc. The ...

Canberra Cuts Down Timber Standard

The Feds should support a global system for certifying that wood is legally harvested, says Michael Spencer.

Pm's New Loo Just One Item On The Agenda

GOOD morning. Taxpayers are replacing the Prime Minister's leaking slate roof at the Lodge, his official Canberra residence. Estimated cost: $200,000. He is also getting a "refreshed garden bed, with improved soil", plus a "more efficient" watering system, plus "non-slip" for "the rear outdoor cement area". Estimated cost: $9100.

An Unlikely New Porn Capital Reveals Itself

THEY may be federal politicians, the representatives of the people, but is anyone really showing any interest in them outside Canberra?

Architects' Coffee Break

THINK Denton Corker Marshall and the images that first come to mind are usually those of large-scale construction projects such as the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra or even the Bolte Bridge.

Australian Banks On Team Loyalty For Games Release

MATHEW Hayman has been with Dutch professional cycling team Rabobank for so long - this is his 10th year - that he feels as if he's "part of the furniture". It is this dedication that Hayman hopes will be rewarded by the team releasing him for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Howard Is On Wrong Track

DURING World War II I earned my living as a skilled press tool maker (I still have all my fingers). I was then a member of a union. However, since, I guess I have been one of the bosses, known here as the ER in the FLER (furniture). Also, as a public company director.

Fields Of Joy

The countryside offers a perfect change of scene, writes Sunanda Creagh. Redbrow Gardens 1143 Nanima Road, Murrumbateman, via Canberra

Ikea Bows To Pressure And Shows Girls Can Screw Up Too

IF Russell Crowe's cot dramas weren't lesson enough, furniture giant Ikea has been scolded by a European leader for being sexist in its self-assembly manuals.

A Craftsman Of Companies

Michael Chaney has not just built Wesfarmers, he makes furniture too. Leonie Wood reports.

Work Of The Week - Suite Of Furniture From Newman College, University Of Melbourne (1917)

Art review: Suite of furniture from Newman College, University of Melbourne (1917), Walter Burley Griffin, designer (1876 - 1937);James Moore & Sons, manufacturer

Considerable Pocket Filler For Head Driller

Santos head driller John Charles Ellice-Flint was spotted awkwardly carrying an array of bags into the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Canberra yesterday.

Sternum Injury Starts To Hurt As Halfback Drew Drops Off Bench

A sternum injury has ruled Brad Drew out of Canberra's squad for tonight's round-two clash with Penrith. Drew had been on an extended bench for the Canberra Stadium game. Matt Gafa is also out. Lock Terry Martin (hip flexor) is tipped to swap places with reserve Tyran Smith .

Architect At My Table

The ability to see all the pieces of the big picture allows architects to design furniture that fits.

Living In A Wasteland

Canberra people are doing it tough trying to rebuild their lives after January's devastating bushfires. But those who lost almost everything are revealing their mettle, writes James Woodford.