Asylum seeker issue pushes carbon pricing aside

Extraordinarily, the focus has moved so completely to the asylum seeker issue that Greg Combet actually fell six places and Greg Hunt moved off the list altogether. If it’s all been an elaborate set up to get the focus off the carbon price legislation as it passes through parliament, its working so far, but looking at the polls the cure is no better than the disease, at least on Party votes. I think we can safely presume it’s not an elaborate set up. But even stranger is Scott Morrison down three places, as the boss takes over most of the running.

Stephen Conroy well up the list thanks to the media inquiry, in which the media seems fascinated, which is odd as it usually hates talking about itself, endlessly, constantly, ad nauseum. Malcolm Turnbull you would have thought was up the list for the same reasons, but he’s actually been relatively quiet on the media inquiry, more of the coverage focusing on his decision not to speak on the carbon price.

And then there’s the independents. Nick Xenophon for reasons that don’t need any further airing, Rob Oakeshott for channeling both Lord Crapper and Steve Fielding and Andrew Wilkie as the pubs and clubs step up the campaign against poker machine reforms once again. All in all your average week in Canberra.

Kevin Rudd may have more Twitter followers than the other politicians on this list, but it’s Tony Abbott that netizens like to talk about. Radio talkback continues its focus on Julia Gillard with talk of an upcoming scene in the ABC comedy, At Home With Julia, among some of the talkback buzz.

An unusual acceptance speech is highly likely to make the news. Guy Pearce’s acceptance speech for his Emmy Award certainly did that.