Bob Hawke put me in the freezer for years when he was PM. He threw defamation writs around freely and was famous for savaging journalists publicly if he objected to their questions. Other black bans included those from Paul Keating, Scott Morrison, Julie Bishop, Julia Gillard, Bill Shorten, Daniel Andrews – and his entire cabinet. But it was a strategy either to avoid a line of questioning or attempt to intimidate a critic. Bishop made a fool of herself during an election campaign by not understanding the superannuation policies, so I was banned.