Tony Abbott explaining why he enjoyed the ABC’s pale new imitation of Yes Minister, The Hollowmen:

“I just thought The Hollowmen … no one would have got it 12 months ago because the Howard Government didn’t work like that,” he said. “No Howard Government ministerial office was recognisable in the caricature we saw last night”.

Yeah, the Howard government never resorted to shameless spin and bullshit-peddling. They were bastions of straight-talk and action.

What we saw last night, a fictional PM declaring he was going to do something about a national childhood obesity epidemic, and then lamely producing a cop-out “awareness campaign” and voluntary code of conduct… that couldn’t possibly have happened during the Howard years, could it?

Damn that Kevin Rudd and the spin he’s brought to Australian politics. Like Tony, I truly miss the higher principles that left with Howard.

UPDATE Tim Blair has convinced himself that The Hollowmen is exclusively about Rudd, whatever the creators might say. It couldn’t possibly be about Howard too, because he was a man of substance and principle, who abhorred tricky politics and spi… LOOK BEHIND YOU IT’S A MUSLIM BOAT PERSON!

Clearly explicitly referencing the Howard-era childhood obesity stunt wasn’t obvious enough for Blair. Here’s hoping subsequent episodes cover imprisoning asylum seekers in the desert, locking up some innocent bloke the AFP says is related to a terrorist, and redefining marriage in the Marriage Act to make sure no-one tries giving gays equal rights.

Watch Tim quickly change his mind on how good the series is.