Don't mention the trousers!

I am told that most people who meet Big Mal have trouble keeping the word "trousers" out of the conversation. I certainly would. I did meet him once but that was when he was still PM

IT'S one of Australia's most enduring and mysterious political scandals. How did Malcolm Fraser end up in the foyer of a seedy Memphis hotel - popular with prostitutes and drug dealers - wearing nothing but a towel and a confused expression? The former prime minister has always refused to comment on his wild night in October 1986, except to offer the Kevin Rudd-like excuse that his drunken American adventure was a blank. Even this week, when questioned about Mr Rudd's 2005 misadventure at the Scores gentleman's club in New York, Mr Fraser would not elaborate on the events of that night.

But 21 years on, the mystery of the Memphis trousers affair has become clearer, with the pants-wearing Fraser -- that is, the ex-PM's wife, Tamie -- speaking for the first time about the scandal. Mrs Fraser says that rather than being angered by her husband's rumoured dalliance with a prostitute, she felt nothing but sympathy towards her "poor old boy". "I wanted to protect him. My heart bled for him. He's such an innocent in some ways," Mrs Fraser says in a soon-to-be released book Stand By Your Man, which profiles the wives of three Australian prime ministers.

Mrs Fraser tells author Susan Mitchell that although she does not believe that her husband spent the night with a prostitute, she would not have been particularly bothered if he had. "He might have gone off with someone here or there at some time but he wouldn't go to a bar to meet someone on the off chance -- they were setting him up. Poor old boy. It's really horrible. He was so embarrassed. And still is."

Mrs Fraser claims that her husband, who was in Memphis in his role as the head of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, was probably "set up" by his fellow delegates. "They were having him on. Poor old boy. Someone must have slipped him a mickey finn as soon as he walked in. He rang me up and told me about it when he got back to his own hotel. There was this awful voice."

At the time, Mr Fraser told a Sydney newspaper he had no recollection of the night, before adding: "I wish I'd never been to bloody Memphis." For his part, Mr Fraser last night declined an invitation to remark further on the incident at the Admiral Benbow Inn. "I'm not making any comment on that," the 77-year-old said.

The Memphis episode has gained mythical status in Australian political circles over the past two decades, ranking alongside the 1987 passing of former Liberal party leader Billy Snedden, who famously died while "on the job", and the long-running affair between the Whitlam government's treasurer, Jim Cairns, and his secretary, Junie Morosi.

Last year, The Weekend Australian revealed that 61-year-old Snedden suffered a fatal heart attack while having sex with one of his son's former girlfriends in a Sydney motel. And while it is yet to be seen if Mr Rudd's trip to a New York strip club retains any kind of notoriety in the years to come, some entrepreneurs are already profiting from the nocturnal adventures of Australia's alternative prime minister. Stand By Your Man, which includes profiles of Tamie Fraser, Janette Howard and Sonia McMahon, is published by Random House and will be released on October 1.

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Uluru drink ban hits tourists

Sheer idiocy. Why punish everybody for the alcohol problems of a few?



ENJOYING a cold beer or wine while watching the sunset at Uluru will be banned from next month as part of the crackdown on alcohol on Aboriginal land. The tradition of a chilled "sundowner" will be banned as part of the Federal Government's intervention in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities to stamp out alcohol-related child abuse.

Chairman of the Central Australian Tourism Industry Association Steve Rattray said the ban would spoil the experience for many travellers, thousands of whom gather each day to watch a sunset over Uluru. The ban is sure to prove particularly annoying for the growing number of "Grey Nomad" tourists, who spend much of their time in the Top End and Western Australia travelling through areas similarly affected by the alcohol bans.

"What has happened is that under the restrictions of alcohol on Aboriginal land you will be able to drive through Aboriginal land with alcohol but you can no longer drink it or dispose of it," a spokeswoman for Parks Australia said. "Uluru is on Aboriginal land which is why the bans affect people who are visiting the Rock." The ban will not apply to the nearby Ayers Rock Resort. The new rules come into effect on September 14.

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Greenie mythology gets expensive

HOUSEHOLDS will have to pay up to $6.5 billion extra from 2012 to replace their electric hot water systems under a Labor plan to impose an effective ban on the appliances as part of its strategy to cut greenhouse emissions. Under the ban, up to half of all Australian households will have to switch to expensive solar hot water systems when their old electric tanks fail. Each solar hot water system will cost about $2800 more than a standard electric system replacement.

Labor will offset this higher cost by extending the $1000 solar rebate already promised by the Howard Government. It will also offer low-interest loans in the hope that projected energy savings of up to $300 a year will help households pay for the transition. But the Master Plumbers Association has warned that the scheme will need to be backed by a rigorous assessment process before each system is changed to ensure households do not simply install the cheapest possible system, which may deliver almost no greenhouse and cost benefit.

Every year there are about 800,000 hot water system replacements in Australia, with about 45,000 of these new solar systems. About 5 per cent of Australian households have solar hot water installed, while about 40per cent are able to install gas hot water systems that will comply with Labor's new energy efficiency standards. Taking into account homes exempt from the ban -- such as some apartments -- and the solar rebate, it will still cost households up to $650 million a year to switch over to solar energy. It will take about 10 years to replace the entire stock of electric water heaters. The cost to households may be reduced by the extension of existing state and local government rebates for solar systems. The national solar rebate proposed by Labor could cost the commonwealth up to $4 billion over the life of the scheme, with other subsidies only transferring more cost from households to taxpayers.

The switch to more expensive solar systems will be more common in NSW and Queensland because of lower rates of gas reticulation, while electric systems in Tasmania may be exempt because the state's high use of hydro electricity means its mains energy supply is likely to meet the required greenhouse emissions standard.

The ban is also likely to affect some property investors who will meet the cost of shifting to solar energy but will be unable to benefit from lower energy bills paid by their tenants.

The national ban announced this week by Labor environment spokesman Peter Garrett goes beyond the phase-out of greenhouse-intensive electric hot water systems in new homes already introduced in South Australia and Queensland, and in Western Australia from September 1 this year. In Victoria, new homes already require either a solar hot water system or a rainwater tank. Labor's national electric hot water ban will begin in new houses from 2010, with exemptions for multi-storey apartments as part of its Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards that will be applied to a range of household appliances. Heating water accounts for about 28 per cent of household energy consumption. Shifting from electric to solar or gas hot water is considered one of the best ways of improving energy efficiency in households, although solar systems still require a supplementary gas or electric heating source.

Master Plumbers Association training manager Gary Workman expects the industry will manage the jump in more time-consuming solar installations after 2012, with about 5000 of Australia's 60,000 plumbers already trained under a green plumbers program.

Mr Garrett said the implementation of the new standards would be done in close co-ordination with industry and state and local governments. "Australians want to embrace climate-friendly solutions and we think that this policy will be well-supported by the public," he said.

Labor has already flagged amore comprehensive energy rating scheme for major household appliances and a tighter review of standards. Its offer of low-interest loans worth up to $10,000 per household can be used to install water and efficiency measures including insulation, rain tanks and solar panels.

In February, the Howard Government announced it would ban the sale of incandescent lightbulbs from 2009 and in May it doubled the rebate for the installation of rooftop photovoltaic cells. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull last night said the Government had already committed $252 million to help subsidise the replacement of electric hot water systems. He said the Government's existing Minimum Energy Performance standards already apply to hot water heaters, refrigerators, airconditioners and other household appliances. "This is yet another example of Labor playing catch-up on the federal Government's policies," he said.

Mr Workman said the high cost of installing solar systems meant there was a risk a ban on electric systems could see households simply switch to the cheapest compliant system without factoring the longer-term cost or greenhouse benefits. "The reason 95per cent of Australians do a like-for-like replacement is because it's the quickest and cheapest to do," Mr Workman said. He said Labor's proposal needed to take into account specific local conditions that would make the installation of solar systems expensive and inefficient.

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Dear Mr Burglar, please be good

This does sound pretty absurd but it has some logic to it

POLICE are set to unveil their latest weapon in the fight against burglary -- asking crooks to stop. In a new scheme to be rolled out statewide, police will visit or write to repeat offenders asking them to come forward and seek help. Acting assistant commissioner of police region five Gavin Barry said the plan was aimed at persuading people to confront whatever caused their offending. He said those who responded could be helped into counselling programs aimed at curbing drug, alcohol, gambling or any other addiction generating their need to steal.

Letters have been sent to recidivist burglars in Frankston, which is part of region five. "It outlines we're aware they've got some issues," Mr Barry said. A high percentage of burglaries in Victoria are caused by offenders trying to get money to feed their addictions. Mr Barry said Victoria Police would always try to catch those who committed burglaries but it was also important to try to stop them happening in the first place. "It's to try to break the cycle of offending or dependency," he said. "It's really a proactive strategy. We can go on locking people up ad nauseam but that's not dealing with any of the underlying issues."

Mr Barry said the strategy had been launched in Frankston six weeks ago and was expected to spread statewide. "It's an example of police taking the initiative to try something different," he said. Mr Barry conceded the idea might not appeal to all recipients of a letter or visit from the police asking them to change their ways. "Obviously, not everyone will take up the offer," he said. Mr Barry said it might have its critics in the wider community but fresh strategies had a track record of success in things such as road toll reduction.

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