Julie Bishop breaks her silence on Peter Dutton’s eligibility and bullying in parliament

FORMER Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was having a quiet week until this morning, when she explosively broke her silence.

FORMER Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has had a quiet week, silently assuming her new role on the Liberal backbench.

This morning she broke that silence as she was cornered by reporters in the halls of parliament.

Ms Bishop appeared to be in no rush to escape the media scrum, and casually answered a long list of questions on subjects ranging from Peter Dutton’s eligibility to the plight of women in her party.

Mr Dutton is under renewed pressure this morning thanks to the revelation that deposed prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has been urging his former colleagues to vote with Labor and refer the Home Affairs Minister’s eligibility to sit in parliament to the High Court.

Ms Bishop added to that pressure, calling for “clarity” on the issue and implying she was open to voting against Mr Dutton.

“If there’s a vote, I will make up my mind at the time. But of course we want clarity around the standing of all the members of parliament,” she said.

Asked whether the best option would be for Mr Dutton to voluntarily refer himself to the court, she said politicians had a “personal responsibility” to ensure they were eligible.

“That’s a matter for Peter Dutton. We all have personal responsibility to ensure we are eligible to sit in the parliament. We’ve seen in recent times, steps taken by members of parliament to clarify their status. But it’s a matter for each politician to make that determination.”

When Mr Turnbull was still prime minister, Ms Bishop voted with the rest of her party and shot down an attempt to refer Mr Dutton.

If she changed her mind now, it would almost certainly give Labor the numbers.

She defended Mr Turnbull’s right to lobby MPs from New York.

“I’m sure Malcolm’s enjoying his break from politics,” she said.

“He has feelings and like any other Australian he’s free to express them.”

Julie Bishop during her walking press conference this morning. Pic: Lukas Coch/AAP

Moving to another topic, Ms Bishop stood by her previous comments about bullying and intimidation in politics.

“You all attend Question Time. You see the behaviour in Question Time. Would that be tolerated in any workplace?” she asked, citing the constant “name-calling and shouting” across the chamber.

She suggested some of the behaviour behind the scenes in parliament could be “illegal”, and expressed mild support for the Liberals’ decision to deal with bullying allegations “internally” without naming the alleged culprits.

“It’s a very difficult situation where you are accusing others of behaviour that could, well, in some instances illegal, to name them,” Ms Bishop said.

“If the women who feel this way are confident that their concerns will be taken seriously and investigated then there’s no need to name them publicly.”

This week Liberal Senator Lucy Gichuhi backed way from her threat to name the bullies in parliament, saying she had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and left it in his hands.

Ms Bishop also reiterated her belief that the Liberal Party has too few women in parliament, but stopped short of backing the idea of a gender quota, instead citing her support for “targets”.

“Look there are a number of ways of increasing female representation,” she said.

“I have a long history through my legal career and political career in encouraging more women to enter these particularly male-dominated spheres.”

The Liberal Party’s current target is 50 per cent female representation by 2025.

Ms Bishop said some of the conduct was possibly “illegal”. Pic: AAP/Lukas Coch

Peter Dutton has also been chatty this morning.

Responding to Mr Turnbull, he adopted an attitude we could describe as politely unimpressed.

“Mr Turnbull never raised once with me any issue around Section 44,” the Home Affairs Minister said.

“The first it was ever mentioned by Malcolm Turnbull was during the leadership week.

“People can draw their own conclusions.”

Speaking to 2GB radio host Ray Hadley, Mr Dutton implicitly compared Mr Turnbull’s interference to the “dignity” of another former prime minister, John Howard.

“I think John Howard’s the gold standard here. I think he conducts himself with dignity, and I hope all former prime ministers can do that,” Mr Dutton said.

“I hope Mr Turnbull’s able to enjoy his retirement and contribute to the Liberal Party in the same way John Howard has.”

Originally published as Julie Bishop breaks her silence on Peter Dutton’s eligibility and bullying in parliament