Magic of Alex survives tsunami

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister^* Alexander Downer, speaking to Barrie Cassidy on ABC-TV’s Insiders program, laments the inefficacy of the Howard Government’s Intervention in indigenous communities:

“And when we intervened in the Northern Territory in the Indigenous communities there again, the actual initiative was very popular with the public but it didn’t shift the opinion polls.”

^* Yes, technically Mr Downer is still Minister for Foreign Affairs, and will remain so while caretaker arrangements are in effect, which will be until the new government is sworn in — probably next week.