"The news is very bad", writes Bob Ellis on his film and political blog.

He is not, this time, critiquing the political climate. The author, political commentator, screenwriter and journalist has announced via his website that he may have just weeks to live.

Bob Ellis has aggressive liver cancer, he said on Sunday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

A familiar face in Parliament House, Ellis has written speeches for Labor leaders including Bob Carr, Paul Keating and Kim Beazley and won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay for Newsfront in 1978.