The press go into Craig Thomson overdrive

The Craig Thomson issue continued to take up much of the political oxygen, with everyone trying to claim everyone else was involved in improper processes in either badgering the police on the issue or trying to sweep it under the carpet. Rumours that Thomson could be asked to quit the party and sit on the cross bench were rejected by Anthony Albanese as the Government continued battening down hatches.

The travails of the steel industry, the other, perhaps slightly more important issue dominating the political landscape, got the personal touch from both leaders this week, Julia Gillard meeting with trade unions and workers in Wollongong in an “I feel your pain” exercise, while Tony Abbott scared the pants off blue-blood Liberals once more by giving more than a wink to the idea of protectionism.

Kevin Rudd is back and in full swing moving up 12 spots. According to a Galaxy Poll published this week, Kevin Rudd was the only Queensland MP that would still have his job if an election was held last week, while the steel job losses brought Chris Evans into the top 20 for the first time this year.

Julia Gillard topped Tony Abbott online for the first time in a while, although the criticisms continued for both leaders, one tweet about Abbott called him Australia’s first free-trading protectionist.

The emperor penguin that lost his way and ended up in New Zealand was shipped home to Antarctica. In the words of veterinarian Lisa Argilla: “He wants to leave … He is ready and he’s really stroppy”.