"Born again politician" [John Howard, Andrew Peacock, Ronald Reagan, John Kerin] [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer.; Published in the Canberra Times on 3 August 1986.; Part of the Pryor collection of cartoons and drawings. The Sunday weekly cartoon wrap. Opposition Leader John Howard's speech to the Liberal Federal Council meeting signals a strong shift to the right; once again it is to little, too late for Andrew Peacock when Howard's speech hoses down rumblings about his (Howard's) perfomance as leader which had been re-kindled by his arch-rival Peacock; Chief Justice of the High Court Harry Gibbs calls for Lionel Murphy to stand down from the Bench, but Murphy is defiant and in a stinging letter to Gibbs, accuses the latter of 'impropriety'; Primary Industry Minister John Kerin is in urgent negotiations with the Americans over their sales of wheat to Russia (a traditional Australian market) under the US Export Enhancement Program, not an easy job when one recalls Reagan's rhetorical style of indulging in folksy parables of dubious relevance and veracity.--Information supplied by Geoff Pryor