When the entertaining antics of New South Wales Labor PM Peter Black were reported in Crikey's sealed sections, Crikey was inundated with stories of Blackie. Here's some our recent coverage: CRIKEY MAR 23, 2004 When the entertaining antics of New South Wales Labor PM Peter Black were reported in Crikey's sealed sections, Crikey was inundated with stories of Blackie. Here's some our recent coverage: Black's blackout Sealed section - 12 March Will the tired and emotional New South Wales Labor PM Peter Black get the same sort of coverage poor old Andrew Bartlett copped? Crikey understands his performance in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday night was even better than Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. Everything, we hear, is captured in its entirety on video - including a moment's interesting intercourse with the gorgeous, pouting, blonde Member for Strathfield, Virginia Judge. New South Wales Labor's black night Sealed section - 14 March The story of New South Wales Labor MP Peter Black's torrid time on the turps - and Barry O'Farrell's expulsion from Parliament by the Tammany boys for stating the truth - has made international papers. All the explicit details of Black's, er, intercourse, with the Member for Strathfield, gorgeous, blonde, pouting Virginia Judge, have been recorded. However, another detail seems to have been omitted entirely. It's time for Crikey to correct this.
Members and staff started drifting into the bar at Macquarie Street on Wednesday evening to find that Black had long since made himself comfortable at his usual table by the door. After a while either nature called or Black decided a bit of fresh air would do him good or something, so he got up to leave - only to have a bit of trouble with a piece of high-tech equipment. The door. Black couldn't get out. After a few attempts at opening the recalcitrant portal, Black realised it was a security door.
A quick pat of the pockets and a bit of fumbling produced the card. He waved it in the right direction, the door made encouraging beeps - but Black remained unable to push or pull it open. By now it was clear to everyone that Black was having problems - but a Good Samaritan came to his aid, yelling out that it was a sliding door. Black attempted to slide it left and right - even though the door very obviously opened on a pivot.
Finally, he got lucky. The thing opened and Black got out - and retreated to the gents amidst roars of amusement. That was a laughing matter.
Another matter that has not been adequately canvassed either - the conduct of Labor Party Members in the vote to expel Barry O'Farrell from the House for stating the truth - is not. Bob Carr is big on personal responsibility. His colleagues made a morally wrong decision when they voted along party lines to expel O'Farrell on Wednesday night. We trust O'Farrell's suspension will be lifted - and that he will receive a suitable apology for this shabby episode from the Premier and the dupe who was in the chair, Acting Speaker John Mills, soon. Very soon. Indeed, if the Parliamentary Labor Party wants to really make amends, it should consider replacing its stooge with someone who possesses the intelligence and integrity that is required to maintain the decorum of the House. It's a virtual dead cert that they'd get the support of the Coalition and the Independents on that vote.
The black and black mishap shows Sealed section - 16 March Reggie Regional-Hack writes: "Enjoying the Peter Black saga. When he was ALP candidate for Riverina-Darling against the incumbent Nat Noel Hicks in the early 1990s, he made a stunning impression on the people of Griffith NSW by arriving pissed on the campaign trail, walking down the main street chewing on an egg salad roll and spraying the populous with chewed egg before departing back to his stronghold of Broken Hill where I am told he did a Clark Kent impression leaving the aircraft without the aid of steps." There are a million stories in the naked city - so we're only just scratching the surface with Blackie.
Keep 'em coming in. And by the way, Mr Carr and Mr Factional Hack Over promoted to the Job of Deputy Speaker John Mills, where are your apologies to Barry O'Farrell? Mills is a factional grotesque in the Leo McLeay mode, but we have a right to expect something better from Carr. The New South Wales Premier has been talking tough on issues ranging from terrorism to grant allocations to the states for a couple of days now. Are you big enough to apologise for his party's errors? And what about making MPs pay full freight in the NSW Parliament's bar rather than enjoying subsidised grog. Could someone flick us a price list to prove how cheap it would have been for Blackie to get blottoed?
More drunken Blackie stories Sealed section - 16 March A political player in regional NSW writes: There are many stories about Peter Black's reputation for liking a drink - but having worked on campaigns against him in Murray Darling I have heard about as many as I need. Unlike many of the large regional electorates held by the Coalition - Blackie has access to a personal driver - which may be understandable when you consider the size of his electorate (half of NSW) - but it is not understandable when you consider that other members do similar sorts of distances without the benefit of a taxpayer funded 'driver" - speculation of course is that the driver is to keep Blackie out of as much trouble as possible. The stories about Blackie abound, ranging from the ridiculous to the disgusting. They are often around the same time as Shire Council gatherings and most councillors in the Western Division have a Blackie story or two.
Publicans don't really like him as he is a messy, horrible drunk (on one occasion defecating himself) and is hard to get rid of. The real problem is that his indiscretions are more often than not considered to be amusing stories around the electorate. I can spend hours working myself up into a frenzy about the disgrace he is - but the moral outrage of those in the media and the Nationals doesn't seem to resonate out there. When it comes down to it all Broken Hill, his hometown, and the town which is by definition, Labor heartland, accounts for well over a third of the electorate in population terms - and so half of NSW (geographically) is now represented by a man you can't have a sober meeting with after lunch. In defence of cheap grog at State Parly Sealed section -
17 March A former staffer in the NSW Parliament writes: Lay off the cheap grog at NSW State Parly! It's the only thing that keeps the remaining demoralised staff there happy. Think about it. The Legislature owns the building. They don't pay rent. Probably haven't since 1846 when the Legislative Council moved in. Clerks of the Parliament, John Evans and Russell Grove are smart managers. The Parliament's plant and equipment supplies air-conditioning to the State Library next door and Sydney Hospital, along with hot water, for which those institutions pay. It also generates electricity for the State Library and Sydney Hospital via a natural gas generating set that kicks in when the price of electricity goes beyond a certain price, so they never pay full whack for their sparks and sell the surplus to boot, thus saving the Parliament, the hospital and the library- big money that they can use to do more important work. The bottle shop and strangers bar do offer a very competitive range of drinks, but so do some pubs and clubs who subsidise the costs of their food and beverages with the proceeds from poker machines. If you ran a business that didn't pay rent and could run the lights and air-con on the cheap, you'd pass on the savings to your clients as well. It should be further pointed out that the House Committee also choose a white and a red each year from a range of NSW growers who vie for the prestige of having their product stocked in the bar and dining room. Price is just as much a factor in their decision as the quality for the House wines.
The staff there do a tremendous job and don't get paid tremendous wages. All this constant criticism doesn't do their morale any good. How 'bout a big hand for the things that they do right for a change. And for David Draper, Manager of Catering and the boys that keep the plant running.
Ex-staffer CRIKEY: And full marks for continuing to serve a thoroughly drunk Blackie. Don't licences require managers to responsibly serve alcohol? Drunk Blackie story number 3693 Sealed section - 19 March Crikey's spy on the Broken Hill writes: A decade or so ago, a high level group from a regional NSW university, led by the then Chancellor, travelled to Broken Hill for a Chancellor's Forum with the Silver City's community, educational and business leaders. Unfortunately, the visit coincided with the later stages of a sister city sporting visit from Bankstown. Peter "Blackie" Black, the lad who has just covered himself with drunken glory in the NSW Upper House, had obviously played the role of convivial host to the Bankstown group with enthusiasm, and burst into the Forum luncheon very late and very definitely "pissed".
The assembled civic worthies and their university visitors were confronted by the apparition of the mayor, clad in what appeared to be a rumpled pyjama shirt under his coat. Blackie spent the rest of the event advancing forceful arguments for the superiority of his bachelor's degree in science over the multiple doctorates in various lesser disciplines held by the astounded visiting academics. He supported his thesis with demonstrations of his ability to sing several verses of "Gaudeamus Igitur" in Latin. As he must have felt that an optimum result would be achieved by addressing his dulcet warblings to each table of guests in turn, the event degenerated into farce with tables being evacuated by fleeing diners as the mayoral troubadour could be spied advancing towards them in a counter-clockwise progression around the hall.
Possibly the most memorable Chancellor's Forum addressed by the university group, if not the most successful. As an afterthought, it must be said that Blackie and Noel Hicks were far and away the best Broken Hill mayors in living memory, in terms of the effectiveness of their efforts on behalf of the city. It's just a shame that Blackie's enthusiastic approach to the social requirements of his job take the gloss off his performance.
