Tina Arena quits Australia Council, ending the age of ScoMo

In the aftermath of Scott Morrison beating out Julie Bishop and Peter Dutton to replace Malcolm Turnbull as Australia’s prime minister, he reportedly ended his first full party meeting as leader by calling Bishop aside … and asking her for Tina Arena’s phone number.

So if we are to take a cue from Eric Hobsbawm’s approach to history, dividing events by “ages” characterised by the preponderance of certain ideas and classes of events, rather than, say, monarchic or parliamentary reigns — the “short 20th century” between 1914 and 1991, for example, or the dual revolutions that dominated Europe between 1789 and 1848 — it can be said the “age of Scott Morrison” truly came to an end this week.

Yesterday it was announced that Arena had stepped down from the role on the Australia Council to which Morrison had appointed her. She showed up to fewer than half of the meetings the council held while she was a member, and quit citing other “work commitments”. And let’s face it, matters of state are one thing, but the opportunity to appear as a carnivorous plant on the French version of The Masked Singer, alongside the likes of Jeff Panacloc and his naughty monkey puppet Jean-Marc … well that comes but once in a lifetime.