Dolly Parton's heading to Australia in November for the much anticipated Australian leg of her Better Day World Tour, but after difficulties with local officials regarding her tour bus, the tour nearly ended before it even got started.
Back in July, Dolly's camp sent in the permit paperwork that goes with staging a tour, and that included bringing along two tour buses.
That's when the government red tape began.
Apparently Dolly's safe-for-American-travel tour bus didn't meet Australian road rules because it was too wide, too long, too heavy, and the door opened on the wrong side, meaning it open into traffic in the left-side-of-the-road driving country.
Dolly's people put their foot down and basically said no buses, no Dolly.
That's when federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese realized the money the country would lose if they lost Dolly's tour.
"This was a practical example of what happens when you have different sets of rules across eight states and territories," Mr Albanese said. "Sometimes, rules are there for a reason. But commonsense tells you Dolly Parton touring here is good for her fans and the economy."
So Mr. Albanese went to work.
After two months of bureaucratic bullsh**, he buttered up roads officials sufficiently and finally this week all the paperwork was in place for Dolly to hit Australia in a cloud of pink outfits, perky wigs, and pure awesomeness.
And Dolly's got a message for her Australian hero, "Dolly and her people are very pleased to hear the bus is coming and it's all sorted and has promised Minister Albo a huge cuddle when she comes to Australia in November."
That's our Dolly, big enough to get an entire country to bend their road rules for little ol' her. I'm so proud.
