The characters involved were Belinda Neill, the federal member for Gosford and the Central Coast, her husband John Della Bosca, minister in the NSW government and a few hangers on.
Belinda Neill is just by her looks and her way of speaking a somewhat unpleasant character. I never met her or spoke with her and all my impressions in the past were exclusively from TV news and appearances. But on that basis I had formed an opinion and that was not particularly favourable. And I must say, a similar assessment would also apply for her husband, though not as negative as that for her.
The late Princess Diana from the UK once upon a time referred to her rival Camilla Bowles as “the Rottweiler”. I can’t help thinking about that when I think about Belinda Neill.
And hearing the story, which was quickly dubbed Iguana Gate, seemed to match reasonably precisely my perceptions. Anyway, a minor affair blew up in her face, basically because of her rather unreasonable and petulant behaviour (for which Kevin Rudd ordered her into some anger management courses!!)
The papers had a field day and I thought the article below was worthwhile reproducing here
20th June, 2008
The Iguana Affair
It ain't over until the Iguana sings
Chris Henning, Sydney Morning Herald
June 20, 2008
Act I:
Die Slabberdammerung (Twilight of the Slabs) The Slablords, Siegdella and his lady, Belinhilde, are partying at a castle with Central Coast friends, known as the Woymaidens, when the Iguana appears, singing the rollicking drinking song Move, Move. We Need Your Table. Belinhilde, who knows sorcery, tries her most powerful spell in the well-known aria ---- Off, ----head. But her spell goes awry, and she succeeds only in conjuring up the greedy twins Faffen and Fupfa, who covet the Woygold. They join Belinhilde in the tremendous Me ---- Off? ---- Off Yourself, Bitch.
As the three battle for supremacy, Siegdella tries to intervene, brandishing his sacred sword Rightwing, and singing the famous aria My Wife Is A Saint. I Have The Numbers To Prove It, but Faffen accuses him of hallucinating in the powerful duet Youse Must Be Off Your Face (I'm Cutting Youse Off).
Siegdella, who has been drinking mineral water, is baffled. Belinhilde, disgusted at Siegdella's weakness and mortified at the twins' insults, sets fire to the restaurant and marches out with the Woymaidens singing the curse song Lizard, Your Redevelopment Plans Are Toast.
They leave Siegdella, Faffen, Fupfa and the Iguana fighting amid rising flames in the car park as the Iguana sings the vengeful I'm Gonna Shop You To The Sundays, Nyah Nyah. At its climax, the sword Rightwing shatters, and at that moment the Iguana recognises Siegdella as a true hero, and is filled with remorse.
Act II: The next day. Siegdella realises he will have to negotiate with the Iguana if he and Belinhilde are to be cleansed of their shame. In swirling mists high on a mountain top, he meets the Iguana, and sings the famous aria Mate, Neither Of Us Needs This. The Iguana, chastened, answers with the equally haunting I'll Sign Anything - Just Don't Knock Back My DA. But though the two sing the reconciliation aria Nothing Happened, And If It Did, It's The Media's Fault, they have reckoned without the malevolent Faffen and Fupfa, who have seen their chance to win the Woygold in return for interviews on 60 Minutes.
Interlude: Dance of the F twins (ballet). Faffen and Fupfa leap about in front of TV cameras, mocking Belinhilde and Siegdella obscenely, and brandishing their stat decs. But Belinhilde and the Woymaidens drive them away, and Belinhilde forces the Woymaidens to write new stat decs, which she then hides with the Woygold.
Act III: Later, at Slabbenhalla, home of the Slabs. Belinhilde is confronted by Kevinrude, king of the gods, in the majestic This Is Not The Image Our Party Needs and told to undergo a penance. As the orchestral accompaniment rises to a deafening climax, Belinhilde appears before the dwarves of the Allthing (parliament) and confesses her shortcomings in the moving lament I Might Have Been A Goose, But I'm The Victim Here. Albo, the head dwarf, reforges the sword Rightwing and in a magnificent act of reconciliation with his lifelong factional enemy, returns it to Siegdella, who immediately beheads him. But the hero cannot save Slabbenhalla, which has been torched by the F twins, using the Woymatches supplied by Kevinrude. As the entire cast collapses around them, Faffen and Fupfa clutch the Woygold and sing the climactic aria Our Story's Worth 100K Minimum, Or At Least A Free Commodore before perishing in the flames.
The next three months in Green Point Palace are filled with the usual, quite a bit of work, some visiting guests from overseas, work in the garden to prepare for winter as well as my second Birthday Party which is scheduled to take place in October.
Weatherwise things become rather cold, more so than would usually be the case. And whilst it had been raining a few times during my absence, it now turned to absolutely dry.
Green Point 28th July, 2008
letter to a friend
......Um beim Wetter zu bleiben, hier bei uns ist es – um es urdeutsch zu sagen – arschkalt. So einen kalten Winter hatten wir schon lange nicht mehr.
Na ja, es ist natuerlich auch alles relativ. 14 Grad Tagestemperatur und 8 Grad in der Nacht sind fuer uns halt ungewoehnlich. Erfreulicherweise ist mein Haus ‘thermal’ guenstig und die Sonne, wenn sie denn scheint, erwaermt mir das Buero doch auf 23 oder mehr Grade. Aber es ist lange her, dass ich im Bett mal Socken angezogen habe!
Australien war ja wohl auch bei Ihnen in der letzten Woche einige Male in den News Dank Papa Ratzi. World Youth Day war ein grosses Ereignis hier, allerdings auch nicht immer ganz unumstritten. Die doch recht sekulaeren Australier und Sydneysider insbesondere, haben es nicht so mit Massen von Katholiken – oder irgend welchen anderen Glaeubigen jedweder provenience. Ich hab mich jedenfalls aus Sydney raus gehalten in der Zeit
Hier geht es sonst so seinen ‘sozialistischen Gang’ ein wenig Arbeit ist angesagt. Ansonsten plane ich bereits wieder meine naechste Reise im Oktober/November.
Wie ueblich wird es fuer ein paar Wochen nach Kampala gehen. Dort machen wir tentative Fortschritte mit zwei kleinen Geschaeften. Ich habe den Jungs einen Container gekauft – so ein richtig grosses Ding – welcher auf dem lokalen Markt aufgestellt wird. Darin werden wir dann 2 kleine Geschaefte installieren.
Eines wird die second hand clothing Boutique, welche bei dem Besuch meiner Freunde im Mai bereits mit den Namen “Wunderbar” getauft wurde. Das war so ein Wort, was viel in der Zeit gebraucht wurde und die Jungs hatten grossen Spass daran.
Das zweite business wird eine art office services Laden, wo der Mensch CDs machen lassen kann, Drucken, Wordprocessing, laminations und so weiter. Sicher werden wir dort auch so ein paar Bueroartikel verkaufen, wie notepads, Schreiber etc. Bin mal sehr gespannt, wie das sich anlaesst.
So hoffe ich, dass ich wenigstens einige der Jungs zu einer oekonomischen Unabhaengikeit fuehren kann. Diese beiden Laeden werden wohl insgesamt 5 von ihnen in ‘Arbeit und Brot’ halten.
Vor ein paar Monaten habe ich einen gebrauchten Lastwagen gekauft und der ist jetzt die Basis eines recht gut gehenden Transport Unternehmens fuer 2 der Jungs. .......
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