Our friends at Drinks Business magazine this week reported that in the UK, “Labour’s John Spellar has urged the Commons Commission to buy and drink Australian wine in Parliament bars to ‘make clear that bullying doesn’t pay’ in light of Chinese wine tariffs.”

Spellar told the House of Commons they should stock more Aussie wine when the next review of wines sold in the hallowed halls comes around in spring. At the moment, according to the House of Commons catering wine list, Pommy parliamentarians can only choose from two Australian wines.

But InSider can reveal that the review should do more than look at the quantity of quaffing. Since most South Australians can scan a wine list in two seconds and find the errors, InSider can report there is actually only one Australian wine on the menu – because the £21.90 a glass Chardonnay from Dry River listed as an Aussie white is actually made by our colonial cousins across the ditch in New Zealand.

The only real Down Under drop on offer is The Black Craft Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, an apparent bargain by comparison at only £7.40. But alas, it’s one of those wines you can only get in the UK,  made by Barossa winemaker Rolf Binder and UK wine impresario Noel Young. So probably not much help on the tariff front either.

Luckily, Spellar urged all his fellow thirsty MPs to not limit their quaffing to parliament, but to pick up a bottle or three of Aussie wine at the off-license on their way home as well.

“So can I urge the Commons Commission to stand with our Australian friends and allies and prioritise buying Australian wine and encourage its use in our venues in order to make clear that bullying doesn’t pay,” he said.

Hear, hear. But we encourage them all to check the label closely.

Salvo security

While perusing Reddit’s Adelaide posts this week, InSider came across a disturbing image – an Adelaide Salvos has started putting ink security tags on their clothes.

The pictured garments range from $7 – $13, with commenters left flabbergasted at the charity’s decision.

One commenter said: “If I’m gonna [sic] shoplift I might as well shoplift new stuff”.

The image, while at first a little funny, is a depressing sign of the times, as South Australia reported a 31 per cent increase in shoplifting in the 12 months leading to October 2023, equating to 17,572 offences

An Adelaide Salvation Army store has begun security tagging its clothes. Image: Reddit user Aimless_Devastator

A Monash University study released last September found more than a quarter of consumers believe stealing from retail stores is “a little” to “completely” justifiable.

Taking an item without paying was seen as justifiable for 28% of shoppers, as the cost-of-living crisis continues.

Charity stores are not immune from theft after it was reported in April last year the Aberfoyle Park Salvos store had their donations rummaged through by thieves.

Back to the matter at hand – Salvos’ security tags. The consensus from a lot of commenters seemed to be: if someone is at a point where they need to be stealing from a charity shop, let them. “It goes with the mission of the place,” explained one user.

Insider does not condone this message, but while we understand the rise in theft has forced stores to take drastic action, there is undeniably something in a charity shop security tagging their donated clothes which feels a little… odd.

Securitytagswholesale.com sells a pack of 500 similar security tags for $179 (on sale from $279), money which many Reddit users felt could be better used, perhaps for the Salvation Army charity itself…

One commenter passionately let their opinion out, on both the situation and the pictured clothing…

“If anything, this costs them more than they’d make from selling those ugly musty shirts.”

We give a crap

InSider’s favourite social media manager has hung up her police badge and is moving to Who Gives a Crap toilet paper. Sad days for the AFP (she also had a memorable stint at SAPOL) but a great hire for the TP company.

Catlin’s influence on police posts was always a joy to read:

If you ordered a CNC machine from the USA we’d love to chat! Investigators uncovered 225kg of meth inside with an estimated street value of more than $202 million. We know someone out there is eager to get their hands on this piece of machinery, so if it’s yours, call 131 444. pic.twitter.com/1gTO4RiBUS

— AFP (@AusFedPolice) December 6, 2023

We imagine Caitlin will be shit hot at her new gig and hope she had something to do with this

Stuff you should know…

The South Australian Cricket Association has installed two new honour boards along the Avenue of Honour on the western side of Adelaide Oval.

The first board highlights the 98 South Australian men and women who have represented Australia in Test cricket, while the second honours the head curators.

SACA President Will Rayner said: “Test cricket is the pinnacle of our great game, and to enshrine the names of so many talented men and women who achieved this while playing for South Australia is fantastic.”

“Curators are unsung heroes of cricket and we have been blessed to have some of the greatest ever working at this stunning venue. It is fitting that we recognise a group of people that have had such a great influence on Adelaide Oval being recognised as one of the world’s truly great sporting grounds.”

InSider notes that being an Adelaide Oval Curator is obviously a good gig given there has been only 10 since 1872, and wonders if SACA has plans to change the curator term given the space they have left on the wooden board.