Loose cannons

Losse cannons

Forgive and forget

"Chemical manufacturing giant ICI may escape prosecution over a series of gas leaks and a fire last year at its Botany plant, despite State Government criticism and threats at the time to close the plant and impose fines of up to $1 million." — Sydney Morning Herald, March 31.

Preoccupied

"I've always wanted to come [to Australia], but somehow I was always off invading somewhere or other." — Colin Powell, former chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on his first visit to Australia.

Just deserts

"You support her and she turns around and kicks you in the teeth." — Bruce Whiteside, forced to resign as convener of the Paul Hanson Support Movement, he says, "because I wouldn't massage Pauline's ego".

It does raise doubts

"Rail safety questioned after 21 die in two crashes." — Sydney Morning Herald headline on a story about Spanish train crashes.

More times than he has fingers

"That's an awful lot of mistakes he made." — Deputy PM and unofficial cabinet statistician Tim Fischer, on Senator Mal Colston's 31 instances of "sloppy bookkeeping" that resulted in him receiving $6880 in government payments he wasn't entitled to.

Panic, greed, fear ...

"What really matter in politics are convictions, principles and instincts." — Margaret Thatcher, former Tory PM of Britain.

They still call Australia home

"[NSW Detective Inspector Tom] Sharp says the major barrier Australian police must overcome [in fighting Asian-based organised crime] is the fear and distrust with which many Asians view police. This mindset has its origins in their experiences with police in their home countries, where corruption is often a fact of life." — Bulletin, April 8.

From GLW issue 269