T - 19: All the News that Fits

That's the Kiama blowhole on the left. You might think I am taking the easy way out and starting this post with a phrase that strikes just about everyone as funny.

But in fact, Kiama is in the news here this week, and it has nothing to do with the blowhole. (OK, I used it a second time because it is funny.)

We're having an interesting time here in New South Wales. We just got a new premier (our equivalent of a governor, for you in the US) and he appointed new ministers (the members of Parliament who run the various divisions of government). Our new minister for police - a man from Kiama - managed to hold onto his job for all of three days before he became our former minister for police.

That is because the newly appointed former police minister was forced to admit that he had danced in his underpants at a drunken party held in his Parliament office three months ago. If you really need more information, you can read all about it here.

It's not quite our version of toe-tapping US Senator Larry Craig, but it has been all the buzz here in Sydney for a couple of days. There's something irresistible about a super silly politician getting caught with his pants down - or completely off in this instance.

This made me curious about just what sort of news stories Aussies really do read. Interestingly, it seems to vary widely among the various states according to the Fairfax news web sites. Here in New South Wales, the sex scandal barely beat out the critical international news about a drunken Russian pole vaulter. In Victoria, the readers were naturally eager to know more about a methane leak that has forced the long-term evacuation of an entire neighborhood.

The West Australians couldn't wait to learn more about a national manhunt searching for a guy who had punched a kangaroo. (No, I am not making any of this up.) But it was the reading habits of Queensland that really made me take notice.

These are the 5 Most Read Stories from the Sunshine State:

1. iPod invented by furniture salesman

2. Aussie teacher produced porn with students

3. Man gets stuck in window, suffocates

4. Child porn victim busted in search for herself

5. Truck wedged under Toowong bridge

If the stories we read reflect the type of people we are, then I will leave you to draw your own conclusions about Queenslanders. For you in North America, it might be enough to know that they are affectionately known by the rest of us here as Banana Benders.

One of my best friends, Jon, is from Queensland. He's a good friend, even though he has twice handed me his resignation. But now that I have read this list, I believe I had better have a think about him, maybe a post next week.