The Pain of Faine 774ABC

JON FAINE 774ABC

The Pain of Faine

IF YOU are not listening to Jon Faine this morning, well, you  are missing a treat. He has been going at it for a bit over an hour, in which time this government's ABC-funded publicist has

1/ Read a transcript of a woman alleged to be Ralph Blewitt's sister, Penny, telling a Perth radio station that her brother is a crook and cannot be trusted.

2/ Interviewed PR lady and former Age industrial reporter Joanne Painter, who was mentioned in Ian Cambridge's diary of his investigation of the AWU-Wilson-Gillard love triangle as having been quoted by a third party as saying that she had agreed to spike a story on renovations to Gillard's home allegedly paid for with Brown Bag Bruce's ill-gotten gains. Here is the relevant paragraph from The Australian's story:

The Cambridge diary states that in September 1995 Mr Gries revealed to Mr Cambridge that a journalist at The Age newspaper was going to publish a “fairly correct” story about union-funded renovations at Ms Gillard’s house… The diary states that Mr Gries knew the proposed article was the work of Age journalist Joanne Painter.... According to the diary, Mr Gries said he had “specifically requested” Painter drop the article and she had agreed to do so. Painter declined to comment yesterday.

Today, chatting with the oh-so-sympathetic Faine, Ms Painter described the Australian's story as "a confection", said the young and naive Gillard never crossed her radar during her "crusading" days at the Age and further denied ever having worked on such a story.

Faine did not ask Ms Painter, and she did not volunteer, why she declined the Australian's request for comment. Could it be that the newspaper's Hedley Thomas is the better-versed interlocutor and Faine a more sympathetic ear?

3/ Faine then shared his microphone with former Labor spinner andInsiders compere Barrie Cassidy, who outdid his host in asserting that there is no "there" there in all this curiosity about Gillard's past, honesty and character.

Scrotum Face then announced that listeners should check the taxpayer-funded Drum later in the day, where he promised a further demolition of the baseless conspiracy against a good and virtuous woman. Ben Eltham's earlier effort needs a little bolstering, evidently.

John Howard made a half-hearted effort to clean out the ABC's stable. Prime Minister Abbott, if he is worthy of that office, will need to do a proper job.

Bunyipitude: The Pain of Faine: