Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is up from 13th to the more usual spot of second this week, although still only a quarter of the mentions of the Prime Minister, with last week’s debate about whether people wearing burqas should be allowed into Parliament House pushing Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and the previously invisible President of the Senate, Stephen Parry into the top ten. To be fair to Senator Parry, the President of the Senate has never been a high profile position beyond the confines of the red chamber. At least not until last week.

PUP Leader Clive Palmer’s success in initiating a Senate inquiry into the Queensland government moved him and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman up the list, with some media questioning whether it amounted to more of a continuation of the personal vendetta between the two men than a serious investigation into widespread mismanagement.

Suggestions that the ABC would have to cut a string of news and current affairs programs following the announcement of the latest round of cuts to the public broadcaster pushed Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull up the list, while Defence Minister David Johnston moves up following the announcement that Australian military aircraft would join frontline operations in Iraq.

Crikey Political Index October 2-8

More bad news for the budget bottom line this week saw Treasurer Joe Hockey getting mixed reviews on talkback this week, although far from universal criticism.

Talkback Top Five

On social media the burqa issue was more prominent, but neither social nor talkback quite reached the levels of obsession with the issue the news media managed. Oh how the media world has changed.

Social Media Top Five

After decades of underperformance and being removed from the NRL competition altogether at the turn of the millennium for two years, Russell Crowe’s direct intervention in buying a major stake in the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2006 has culminated in the club finally turning 21 (premierships won) after a 43 year wait.

Comparison of media mentions