What’s not to like? Allan and Wilson lock horns in Insta fight

A huge boost in Premier Jacinta Allan’s Instagram followers has sparked questions about the unusual surge from suspected bot-like accounts and fired up her opposition number.

The premier’s Instagram community suddenly more than doubled on Friday, booming from 34,539 to more than 88,000 – an extraordinary rise of more than 53,400 followers. It now sits at 83,500.

For context, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has 42,900 followers on her Instagram.

Not surprisingly, the massive lift in Allan’s Instagram numbers raised questions about whether the followers had been bought or if Allan’s account had been the target of a bot attack or other malicious activity.

Her department quickly put a lid on suggestions followers would be purchased and instead claimed the premier was the victim of a dirty trick, possibly by the state opposition.

“We believe this is part of a political dirty trick to buy bot followers for our accounts in order to get them suspended,” a government spokesperson said. “We call on the Liberal Party to categorically rule out any involvement.”

Meta, which owns Instagram, was notified about the surge on Friday and asked to remove any fake followers.

Wilson fired back on Monday, describing Labor’s claim as “absolutely ridiculous”.

“It is laughable and I will rule that out in every way, shape and form,” Wilson told 3AW’s Jacqui Felgate, who comfortably shades the two politicians in the socials with 469,000 Instagram followers.

“Unfortunately, today we have not got a statement from the premier saying that not one dollar of taxpayer money has been used, but we have had a statement playing politics accusing the Liberal Party, which is absolutely ridiculous. It is an insult to Victorians.”

Paris end to the pits

Crooks with a taste for F1 fashion have made off with a pile of racy apparel, after a brazen break-in at a pop-up city store operated by Elle Baillieu, daughter of former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu.

Elle, who recently tied the knot with restaurateur Tom Sutterby, was deep in press commitments for grand prix sponsor Penfolds when we caught up with her on Monday after hearing about the grand theft of fashion from her motor racing-inspired brand, Principal The Label. She owns the brand with Hayley Conway.

“We have a pop-up shop at Melbourne Quarter, and after we bumped in on Thursday someone broke in sometime early Friday morning and made off with about half the stock we had on the floor,” she said.

“They have taken hats, T-shirts, tops, shorts and shirts. They have even had time to do a fit check before taking off. They have left wearing our clothes. Their clothes were left behind on the floor.”

Despite the drama, the pop-up was open and operating by Friday afternoon. Melbourne crime investigation unit detectives are investigating.

“Thieves gained access to a Collins Street clothing store sometime between 3pm on 26 February and 8am on 27 February. The offenders fled with numerous clothing items. No arrests have been made at this stage,” Victoria Police confirmed.

Reece urges Perth lord mayor to settle his debt

Politicians love a bit of sports cosplay, no doubt in pursuit of the faintest whiff of relatability.

Former PM Scott Morrison was (is?) allegedly a Cronulla Sharks fan. Then there was that haunting photo of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian standing in a room, blinds drawn, clad in NSW Blues merch, holding a sugar-free can of Coke. A classic of the genre.

For the latest in a long lineage of these political bits, we turn your attention to a bet made between Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece and Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds over the State of Origin AFL game clinched by Victoria last month.

In a letter dated February 24, Reece wrote to his West Australian counterpart calling on him to read an attached statement of apology from the City of Perth to the City of Melbourne, on the record at a council meeting, to settle his debt.

“To begin, allow us to renew our apology regarding coffee. Melbourne’s cafés remain the international gold standard. In Melbourne, every latte arrives like a Renaissance masterpiece etched in foam. Sure, Fremantle has the renowned Cappuccino Strip, but much like our performance in this year’s State of Origin, it’s clear that we can’t compete with the big leagues. We acknowledge defeat. Please send help – and training manuals,” Reece wrote in the attached apology, seen by CBD.

He went on to prompt Reynolds to call Melbourne’s arts scene “simply dazzling”, and to heap praise on the city’s “very cool” tram network (questionable), before setting him up on goods and services tax distribution.

“We acknowledge that Western Australia, through a mysterious blend of economic and political luck has received what some might call an overly generous share of GST revenue. Others would rightly call it downright unfair,” Reece wrote.

“So, Melbourne and Victoria, please accept our sincere and grovelling apologies for Western Australia’s unjustifiable fiscal good fortune. I promise to do everything in my power to fix the unfair GST arrangements. The current arrangements are completely unsustainable and I will lead the charge here in the west, to get these crooked arrangements made good. I acknowledge that the future of our federation depends on it.”

In league with the Dons

Over the past couple of years, senior figures at the Australian-founded financial services company Airwallex haven’t always loved the way the company has been covered in the media. So you could say one way to build a positive narrative around the company is to tip cash into things the average person loves and cares about.

Enter Essendon Football Club – also the target of some less-than-friendly media over its less-than-firing performance. Airwallex has struck a sponsorship deal with the Bombers that is expected to be announced by the AFL club on Tuesday morning, according to a source familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information. Airwallex as approached for comment.

The deal adds to a string of sporting tie-ups struck by Airwallex over the past few years. So far, these have included a partnership with the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team, and the English Premier League club Arsenal. No word yet on the length or terms of its deal with Essendon, but we don’t expect it to be small.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.