UPDATE: Adrian Bayley, the man who raped and murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher, has lost his bid to reduce the minimum-35-year jail sentence he was given earlier this year.
According to documents that have been obtained by The Age newspaper, it’s believed Bayley’s lawyers argued that the judge who sentenced Bayley, Justice Geoffrey Nettle, was incorrect when he said that Bayley derived pleasure from the murder and that the attack was “one of the worse kinds conceivable”.
2. Book publisher Random House yesterday announced that they would be publishing former Prime Minister Julia Gillard‘s memoirs in October 2014.
Random House’s publishing director Nikki Christer said that, “In any reckoning of her achievements, both before and after becoming Prime Minister, this book, written by her and told in her own words, will be essential.”
Gillard explained her motivation for writing the book, saying that, “I want to share my perspective on the issues of our times and how I strove to make a difference for the better every day I had the privilege of serving as Prime Minister. I will also write about changing our nation and future challenges in the years ahead.”
3. Earlier this week, Gillard gave her first public interview since since being toppled from the Labor leadership. You can watch that full interview here.
4. Bill Shorten has admitted to rigging a question for his debate on Tuesday with Anthony Albanese. Mr Shorten reportedly had a man who he referred to as “Big Boy” ask both the Labor leader hopefuls what kind of Prime Minister they would like to be. Shorten’s admission came after a Sydney taxi driver who drove Mr Shorten told a Sydney radio station that the conversation had occurred in the back of his taxi, and said that Shorten had been rude and dismissive of him.
Top Comments
Today I popped into my local music store. The shop was decked out with advertising for the Johnny Depp DVD release of THE LONE RANGER. According to the assistant, no one is pre-ordering a copy and few saw the movie during it's international cinematic run.
Then I remembered, Julia Gillard is writing her memoirs. I just hope that the publisher hasn't given the former Prime Minister a big cheque as an advance on sales to get her to sign on the dotted line.
I'd say to anyone wanting to purchase a copy of the book to wait a month or so after the release date and save at least forty bucks. The best book buys are always found in the bargain bin at your local bookstore. Sound financial advice.
Bill Shorten clearly is a rude and arrogant man. Honestly it's the choice of two evils and I wish the Labour Party could have found a fresh face to take them forward.
I wish Chris Bowen was running!
I've listened to both prospective Labor leaders argue their cases. Both are blaming Tony Abbott for the party's current woes. Apparently voters didn't consider the internal machinations of the ALP on election day. A clean broom needs to be pushed around for a bit. Only the truth can mend the Labor Party, and redeem it in the hearts and minds of those who turned their backs on it.