Courgette is the kind of place Jane Hume’s mother would love. The reason, explains the Superannuation Minister and Coalition rising star, is the Canberra restaurant’s decor: carpeted floors and soft cream-coloured furnishings.

“It means that you can hear yourself think,” Hume says. “It’s also the opposite of Parliament House, where everything is designed so no one can hear your conversations. In this room, everybody can hear everything you say.”