Leaf-blowers are often thought of as the bane of the suburbs but harried voters can take some comfort from the fact that even the mighty can be shouted down by these infernal devices.
In what some might unkindly dub, ``the battle of the blow-hards,’’ Opposition economic spokesman, Joe Hockey has used the Parliament to complain that he can’t be heard when on the ``blower,’’ because of well, another blower nearby.
Perhaps it’s best if he be allowed to speak for himself:
Mr Speaker, I am reluctant to raise this, but I have raised this matter previously with Parliament House departmental officials. Early in the morning on sitting days there is a tendency for lawnmowers and air blowers to be used outside offices during radio interviews. On one occasion I actually had to stop the interview, I know it is hard to believe, Mr Speaker until the noise had passed.
Given that there is a considerable amount of time when parliament is not sitting and that we do not sit on Fridays I, again, request that we do not have the extraordinary noise from lawnmowers and various other machinery being used outside our office windows between 7 am and 9 am.
So there it is and what a blow.
Even with all the sound and fury generated by politicians, it seems those inside the Canberra bubble still think there’s too much outside to compete with.
Mind you, the affable Mr Hockey, whose opponents occasionally decry as a windbag, is just lucky he was not in Canberra on Friday last when five Blackhawk helicopters repeatedly performed a security training drill.
The mind-numbingly loud procedure saw the massively noisy machines hovering just metres above the Senate and House of Representative chambers several times.
Get under one of them Joe and you know about it - that’s a wind that really blows hard.
Still, you have to have security these days just as you probably have to sweep up leaves. It’s the other blow-hards we’re more inclined to have mixed feelings about.
Just kidding Joe.
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