A scandal that is no small matter

EVERY government has its scandals. Some, in retrospect, seem extremely trivial -- even quaint.

EVERY government has its scandals. Some, in retrospect, seem extremely trivial -- even quaint.

For example, in 1984 Labor minister Mick Young was actually forced to resign over a Paddington Bear toy, which Young's wife had imported into Australia without making the relevant declaration.

It took a judicial inquiry before Mr Young was cleared.

In 1970, Liberal minister Andrew Peacock offered to quit cabinet because -- shock! -- his wife had appeared in television commercials for Sheridan sheets.

And in 1982, the Fraser government's Michael MacKellar lost his job over a scandal that modern generations would barely be able to comprehend. He'd imported a colour television but told customs that the device was black and white.

The various scandals that have to this point beset the government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard tend to be far more serious.

Policy failures in everything from border security to household insulation have cost millions in public funds and at the very least have exposed lives to risk. These are no Paddington Bear disputes.

The government has also brought into question its own legitimacy by frequent leadership infighting and also by pledging not to introduce a carbon tax. Again, these are no small matters. A colour TV inquiry would at this point be absolutely welcomed.

And now the government faces yet another potential scandal, this time one that it imported from the opposition benches. House Speaker Peter Slipper is accused by a young male adviser of sexual harassment. The alleged details are extremely unpleasant.

For both Mr Slipper and the government, so are the possible implications.