Insulting chat on intervention. Jenny Macklin says the consultations with indigenous people in the Northern Territory about the future beyond intervention are going well. But her bureaucrats managed to insult some community members, according to one source:

“Take the meeting that happened at Utopia on Tuesday, which was shut down after Rosalie Kunoth-Monks vehemently voiced her opinion about the intervention and government actions. Department staff present at Utopia later reported to other staff in a meeting that the Barkly shire president and Utopia Homelands elder gave an ‘Oscar-winning performance’. Public servants are apolitical and the ‘consultations’ are merely a task they are instructed to carry out by Macklin. Insulting indigenous people about their involvement in their daily lives is not the role of FaHCSIA staff. Particularly when they publicly voice their insults about a renowned leader such as Ms Kunoth-Monks.”

Wine dominance, now beer. Yellow Tail, the Casella budget wine brand that’s had phenomenal success in the US, may be set to expand further. Crikey hears the company is planning to replicate the model with beer …

So long Don, says Greg. Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood farewells Melbourne publisher Don Churchill, who announced his departure yesterday:

I would like to congratulate Don Churchill on a remarkable 46 years in the media business and thank him profoundly for his contribution to Fairfax as Publisher of The Age and Melbourne Publications.

Don brought wisdom and determination to the role and has drawn on this to be an important adviser to me in the strategic changes we are making to Fairfax Media. I specifically asked Don to stay on to see through the initial stages of this process, and he graciously agreed. He has now chosen to take a well deserved retirement. I wish him and his family all the very best in this new stage of life.

Regards,

Greg

Tipsters angry at mid-season change. Few things are more sacrosanct than the tipping competition. So OzTips has some trouble on its hands after being swallowed by internet giant Yahoo. Tipsters are required to set up a Yahoo account to continue playing — just as the season comes down to the wire. They’ve taken to at least one internet forum complaining.