Prime Minister Gillard again fended off questions about her time as a lawyer at Slater & Gordon — while the ABC fended off accusations it has been giving her a free kick on the issue. Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop stormed back into our top 20 by taking up the attack on the PM’s conduct at the firm, leaving Opposition Leader Tony Abbott free to focus on finding policy announcements.

In more positive coverage for the PM, the government’s royal commission into child s-x abuse garnered a great deal of favourable press for Labor, and saw Attorney General Nicola Roxon in the news discussing its scope.

But if Gillard’s domestic stocks remain improved, at the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh she can only play second fiddle to Barack Obama, who is personally spearheading an agenda to “rebalance” American interests in the region.

Meantime, Environment Minister Tony Burke’s announcement that 2.3 million square kilometres of Australia’s oceans would face fishing restrictions netted significant radio coverage, and Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce, always breaming (sic) with great ideas, reeled in the media clamming (sic) the establishment of more marine parks would mean we may have to import more seafood.

Crikey Political Index: November 14-20

The decision by the WA government and Colin Barnett to lift the cap on compensation claims for Margaret River residents affected by last year’s fires dominated talkback in the west.

Talkback top five

Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull’s Q&A appearance lifted their Twitter popularity. Well, it lifted Turnbull’s, because as we point out most every week, K-Rudd always ranks high on social.

Social media top five

On the back of its hefty $160 million TV rights deal, Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop confirmed David Beckham was interested in a move to the A-League.

Comparison on media mentions