No serifs good! All Victorian ministerial media releases now have to be written in Arial and not Times New Roman, Crikey understands. Roman type, apparently, subliminally reminds the punters of the deceased Steve Bracks regime. Typography has not been such a weapon of political power since Bauhaus days.

Lambing dangling. The Queensland Liberal Party aren’t holding their breath, waiting for the “review” of the party by former federal president Shane Stone. It’s won’t be out until after the federal election. There should be plenty of scope for further “review” then – particularly with the speculation that other threatened MPs have set up Andrew Laming to take the rap over printergate.

Glutton for punishment. Former South Australian deputy Labor leader Ralph Clarke has had plenty of experience of the vicissitudes of political life over recent years – and has thrown his hat into the ring for October’s Adelaide City Council election. The long term feud between Clarke and the, er, idiosyncratic state Attorney General Michael Atkinson continues and the council election offers the prospect of much merriment.

Persuasion on the pulp mill. Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has already said he is “deeply troubled” by the conduct of the Tasmanian Government over the Gunns pulp mill project. Schooner pig and Premier Paul Lennon rushed assessment of the mill through parliament after Gunns withdrew it from the state’s independent Resource Planning and Development Commission assessment process in March. And ahead of the state parliament’s vote on the issue tomorrow, questions are being asked about the circumstances that have led a Labor MP to withdraw a threat to cross the floor on the pulp mill. Legislative Councillor Terry Martin is now an independent after crossing the floor to vote against the government’s pulp mill assessment bill. Denison MHA Lisa Singh, however, is being allowed to abstain from voting instead. Liberal leader Will Hodgman has jumped on comments from Lennon that suggest Singh was cactus if she voted against the project. “If Denison MHA, Lisa Singh, has been influenced not to exercise her duty to vote in Parliament by threats or intimidation of any kind, such as a threat to her future political career, that could amount to a breach of Section 70 (ii) of the Criminal Code,” Hodgman says. “Members of Parliament are elected to vote in Parliament. This extraordinary deal to allow Ms Singh not to vote in Parliament in order to save her political skin exposes the lack of integrity of the Lennon Labor Government.”