Comedian Who Was Never Funny Now Dangerously Good At Saying Obvious Things With A Serious Face

In a development our Aunties saw coming a mile off, Dave Hughes has been promoted from “comedian we tolerate at the footy” to “political commentator we begrudgingly nod along with.” We rate the new gig a strong 9 out of 10. The man has found his calling…

For thirty years the joke was that Hughesy wasn’t funny.

But now we understand it wasn’t a bug — it was training… and all those flat punchlines were secretly reps for the real sport: looking down a camera and stating that the government has, in fact, done a number on everyday people. No setup. No tag. Just truth, delivered in the same bewildered tone he once used to describe a supermarket meal deal.

The mob reckons it’s the great Australian magic trick. Spend your whole career as a gammon comedian so nobody clocks you’ve been paying attention the whole time. Then one day you mention native title, intergenerational disadvantage and the price of a schooner in the same breath, and suddenly the panel goes quiet for the right reasons…

Our verdict: keep the suit, lose the stand-up specials.

Some fellas are born to make us laugh. This one was born to make a senator sweat… and honestly, that’s the funniest he’s ever been. Welcome to the deep end, uncle. The water’s fine.