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Nine boss 'apoplectic' over Abo rumour Nine spent much of last week in damage control following reports Sarah Abo risked losing her job as co-host of the Today show to human headline Sam Armytage. The network was partly to blame for the flames, of course. When asked if Abo would still be at Nine in 2026, the network's CEO Matt Stanton didn't exactly rush for the fire hose, telling The Australian: 'I suspect so.' Still, that was at least a fair, well-sourced report. That can't be said for what followed days later from The Oz's digital stablemate News.com.au. Gossip columnist Annette Sharp - possibly one of the most-sued journalists in media - crossed a line in a follow-up that suggested Abo, 39, might be ready to start a family and that Armytage could be her maternity leave cover. Abo has been married to husband Cyrus Moran since 2012. As far as we can tell, she has never spoken publicly about plans to have children. Stanton apparently 'went apoplectic' at the suggestion and the item was pulled from the website for several hours last Friday before being reinstated that afternoon. There was also apparently some bristling at Nine over the description of Armytage as a 'barmaid' - allegedly the nickname once given to her by a Seven executive. The article now includes a rather limp justification for the Abo pregnancy speculation and a note that the claim was, er, completely made-up! 'That failure to emphatically and publicly back Abo... created the perfect vacuum in which rumours inevitably grew,' Sharp wrote. 'Among them, talk Abo was ready to have a family. This column has no evidence to support the speculation.' Then why publish? Sky News star's hotel brawl When word reached us that Sky News Australia pundit Caleb Bond - famously fond of older women - had clashed with an irate husband at an Adelaide hotel, our minds naturally veered toward the salacious. But alas, it wasn't that kind of lobby fisticuffs. Instead, a furious left-wing Sky News hate-watcher let rip at Bond with a torrent of expletives - right in front of his own mortified wife - over, well, some political gripe. It all unfolded at the InterContinental Adelaide on Saturday, during the inaugural Gender Healthcare Summit hosted by the Coalition for Advancing Scientific Care. CASC promotes alternatives to the 'gender-affirming' model of treatment for gender dysphoria in children and adolescents. Several gender-critical speakers and detransitioners, including Mel Jefferies, had moved upstairs from the conference to the lobby bar when an 'angry and aggressive' man barged in and started berating guests, eyewitness Kirralie Smith told Inside Mail. Jefferies, a female who used to identify as a man and is now 'ex-trans', wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'TRANS LIES MATTER'. This provocative slogan evidently triggered the man, who clearly held opposing views on transgender healthcare. Jefferies yelled at the intruder and then lifted her shirt to reveal her mastectomy scars from her regretted surgery. The man then turned his anger towards Bond, who was nearby, calling him an 'ignorant c***' and grabbing his arms. As the situation turned physical, the crowd demanded the man 'get out of here'. He stormed off, followed by his embarrassed wife. Bond was 'visibly shaken and upset' by the altercation, said Smith, but he later had the last word on X. 'If you happen to be the arsewipe and alleged healthcare worker who accosted me in a hotel lobby on Saturday evening, grabbing hold of my arms and abusing me as an "ignorant c***" amongst other things, I hope you had an awful night,' Bond wrote. 'I saw the dirty look on your wife's face when you finally gave up. Poor woman. 'The tolerant left strikes again!' Smith added to Inside Mail: 'It is unacceptable for people to resort to aggressive and violent behaviour because they don't like someone's opinion.' Agreed. Kidspot's growing pains Speaking of News Corp, changes are afoot at its parenting website Kidspot. Sources say the website Kidspot.com.au is set to be wound down in the coming months, with the brand to be absorbed into News.com.au. Kidspot runs on an older publishing platform that's 'a pain in the a***' to use, we are told - so making Kidspot a 'brand' rather than a destination seems a logical move. While the site looks to be closing, we are told no roles are being made redundant and News Corp is still backing dedicated parenting content under the Kidspot banner. As part of the changes, Kidspot's editor Emily Blatchford has already shifted roles to eCommerce Editor at News.com.au, replacing Hannah Paine. Kidspot holds a special place in Inside Mail's heart as the website that obliquely leaked details about MP Josh Burns' complex love life in the form of an anonymous column in April last year. 'A Sydney Mum' told a sad but familiar story of meeting a single dad called 'Joe'. Things were getting serious - he declared he'd never been happier and there was even talk of wanting kids - but then, one day, Joe suddenly went cold. Their relationship ended suddenly, 'in a vague and rushed phone conversation'. It was later revealed by The Australian that 'Joe' was none other than Burns. And after ending things with 'ASM', he swiftly got together with tattooed Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, with whom he is now expecting a child. All's well that ends well. The other Chalmers retreat Treasurer Jim Chalmers' wife, QWeekend magazine editor Laura Chalmers, has ruffled a few feathers in the newsroom with her latest getaway. Laura enjoyed a complimentary break at the $8,000-a-week Gwinganna Wellness Retreat, in Tallebudgera Valley, near the NSW border, writing all about it for the mag - and, as she noted in the piece, it wasn't even her first time at this slice of paradise. Now, she's hardly the first editor to enjoy a perk of the job - and in this case, everything was above board. The double-page spread concluded with the disclaimer: 'The writer was a guest of Gwinganna Wellness Retreat.' But we hear staffers are fuming that the editor got to enjoy the sort of privilege that's usually slung to the rank-and-file as a reward for good work. 'Normally, a freebie like this goes to the reporter who's slogging away or someone who actually needs a break. Laura simply gave it to herself,' one spy grumbled. 'There are journos breaking big stories, having babies, dealing with tough times - but the boss bags the perk?' With most hacks barely managing a weekend away in the current economy - and Jim licking his wounds after the humiliating backdown on his super tax plans - Laura's luxury getaway was certainly a curious choice. Our Political Editor Peter van Onselen had a cheeky thought that might explain why Laura kept the junket all for herself: 'Maybe, being married to Jim, she thought nobody deserved the break as much as her?' Party pariah It's been all quiet on the western front for former NSW MP Rory Amon, who has pleaded not guilty to 10 serious charges, including five counts of having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14, and is awaiting trial. But while the courtroom drama awaits, Amon's been spotted trying to blend into the nightlife scene on Oxford Street. Inside Mail spies say he's been skulking around local nightclubs, seen donning a cap indoors in a not-so-subtle attempt to go incognito. Spoiler: it didn't work. One recent outing ended in disaster when Amon tried to slip into Palms nightclub. His presence didn't go unnoticed - or unchallenged. An eagle-eyed patron clocked him, marched straight to security and had him promptly booted from the venue. Inside Mail understands this is not the first time someone has identified Amon and swiftly asked for him to be removed from a venue. To be clear: Amon is entitled to the presumption of innocence and has not been convicted of a crime. We're only noting that, given the serious nature of the charges he faces, some in the gay community aren't keen to party with him right now. Gamble responsibly Only in Canberra could a senator get booted from a sports club for having a conscience. And not just any senator - this is former Wallaby David Pocock, the independent who actually walks the walk while others just talk. He's been kicked out of Parliament's own sports club after questioning its cosy gambling sponsorship. You couldn't make this stuff up: the one bloke who takes integrity seriously, who played sports for his country, gets blacklisted for saying the quiet part out loud. The sponsorship comes courtesy of the very gambling industry that slaps its logos all over Aussie sport and quietly bankrolls political campaigns. Pocock simply asked if it's appropriate for a club inside Parliament House to be taking cash from an industry that's wreaked more havoc on working-class Australians than cigarettes ever did. The result? He's out. No warning. No debate. Just gone. It's a perfect metaphor for the culture in Parliament. The same MPs who bang on about 'responsible gambling' couldn't handle being called out on their own hypocrisy. The art of the deal? Anthony Albanese's Washington trip delivered yet another round of back-slapping over AUKUS - the deal promising Australia a future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Well, maybe. All very statesmanlike. But here's the fine print: we're also agreeing to take the nuclear waste that comes with them. How does Albo square that? His election scare campaign against Peter Dutton's nuclear plan was built on warnings about nuclear waste risks. That's right - the same Labor government that brands the Coalition's nuclear energy plan as 'dangerous' and 'reckless' is now perfectly comfortable importing nuclear reactors, as long as they're under the sea, and scattering the waste around the country. Apparently, uranium is safe enough to power submarines, but too scary to keep the lights on at home. It's a policy pretzel. Labor now has the joy of explaining why military nuclear waste is somehow different. The South Australian Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, has had to remind colleagues to 'talk geology, not ideology'. Unlike the Albos of the world, Tom has never pretended nuclear power is too risky to even talk about. So Australia will store the by-product of AUKUS but still bans nuclear power. Oh, and we're going to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 without it too, apparently... The Real Housewives of the CIS Sussan Ley's big Monday pitch at the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) was meant to be a slick, policy-packed affair aimed at charming the youth vote. But while the speech ran smoothly, the real action was happening off-script, courtesy of Drew Pavlou. The activist and online firebrand, best known for his run-ins with the Chinese Communist Party and a headline-making suspension from the University of Queensland, rocked up at the event. He says he dropped nearly $500 on flights and a ticket, expecting to lob a question during the Q&A. Instead? Crickets. According to Pavlou, 'staffers' told him he was banned from speaking, and he didn't take it well. He took to social media to vent, pointing out the irony of Ley's Gen Z-focused message while the only Gen Z-er in the room (by his count) was left waving his hand in vain for 25 minutes. But here's the twist: Inside Mail understands Ley's office had nothing to do with the Q&A setup. In fact, her staff had minimal involvement in the event's logistics. The mic time was mostly reserved for journos and CIS members, who pay anywhere from $250 to $600 a year for the privilege. As for Drew's claim to be the youngest in the room? Questionable. Word is, a healthy contingent of Young Liberals were in attendance, though based on their vibes, we get why Drew might not have noticed. One attendee described him as 'twitching' throughout the event. Whether that was nerves, frustration, or just classic Pavlou energy is anyone's guess. He did get an official invite, so it wasn't a gatecrash, but whether he was ever going to get the mic? That's the real question. Either way, it seems Pavlou hated the speech, invoking the spirit of Ley's possible leadership contender Andrew Hastie in his criticism. 'As a young person, I don't give a s*** about tax cuts next to the question of whether the nation of Australia still exists in a recognisable form for my children and grandchildren.' Abbott's new frenemy Is Tony Abbott a believer in the old proverb, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? We ask because, while Sussan Ley slammed the failures of Albo's Trump visit - demanding Kevin Rudd's sacking as ambassador after the president's pointed comments - Abbott took a very different approach. The former Liberal PM surprised listeners on morning radio yesterday, saying: "Good on Anthony Albanese yesterday and good on Kevin Rudd." Such praise for his partisan rivals is rare from Abbott, usually so adversarial - which is why the proverb might just apply. Abbott is a self-confessed Andrew Hastie fan. He recruited Hastie back in 2015, when the ex-SAS officer entered politics during a by-election Abbott called as PM. Hastie won, but Abbott had already been rolled by Malcolm Turnbull. And much like Turnbull, Ley is a moderate. Hastie, meanwhile, is every inch a conservative - just like Abbott - which is why Abbott would much rather see Hastie lead the struggling Liberals than Ley. So maybe Abbott genuinely thought Albo and Rudd did a good job in Washington. Or just maybe he decided praise was the way to go after Ley took aim with both barrels. Politics really is a lovely business, isn't it? It's a… Trump? Albo's whirlwind visit to D.C. is being hailed as a diplomatic slam dunk: charming Donald Trump, locking in AUKUS, and landing a rare minerals deal - all in less than 24 hours. The opposition must be choking on their talking points. But Inside Mail spotted a hiccup - and for once, it's not about Rudd. While chatting to reporters, Albo proudly reeled off the gifts he'd brought for the President and First Lady Melania Trump. 'We had a gift for Melania. We had jewellery. We had a submarine model for the President. And we had some Ugg booties for the President's newest granddaughter… and I'm sure they will be very well received.' Sweet, right? Except Trump's 'newest granddaughter' isn't exactly bootie material. Carolina Dorothy Trump - Eric Trump's daughter - was born in August 2019, which makes her a 'newborn' of 74 months. It seems Albo may have been referring to Tiffany Trump's baby boy, born in May. Fatigue? Jet lag? Or just the tricky business of keeping up with Trump's 11 grandchildren? Who knows? But incredibly, several media outlets ran the quote without so much as a fact-check. Still, if this is the PM’s only slip-up, he's batting pretty well.
