Peter Costello clearly had a misspent youth: not in pool halls and pubs, but in front of the television. Yesterday the Treasurer jumped to attention when Kim Beazley was described as the "skipper" of the union movement in question time. Costello's mind leapt straight to the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, which featured a motley cast shipwrecked on a desert island. He proceeded to name the Skipper's stranded colleagues: Kevin Rudd was the Professor and Nicola Roxon was Mary Ann.
"And whom will we christen Gilligan?" the Treasurer cried. "I think the member for Lilley [Wayne Swan]. He has got to be Gilligan."
Sadly, the Treasurer was called to order before he could go on, leaving three cast-members unaccounted for. The Herald contacted Costello and asked him to fill in the blanks. He decided Simon Crean would play the millionaire Thurston J. Howell III, and Jenny Macklin was a natural as his wife, Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell. And Ginger Grant, the breathy, red-headed movie star? Julia Gillard, of course.