Julie Bishop blasts ‘schoolchildren’ colleagues and says Australia is the laughing stock of the world

ON the global stage, Julie Bishop says we’ve become a joke thanks to the “schoolchildren” antics of Aussie politicians.

AUSTRALIA has become the laughing stock of the world thanks to a revolving door of prime ministers over the past decade, Julie Bishop says.

The former Foreign Minister has sat down for an interview with 60 Minutes, which will air Sunday night, to give her assessment of the latest leadership chaos in Canberra, which saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted for Scott Morrison.

In it, Ms Bishop says that years of instability — the last PM to serve a full term was John Howard in 2007 — has significantly damaged the nation’s international reputation.

Bullying, bluster and sexism. What’s really going on in Australian politics? 8.30 SUNDAY | The #60Mins interview with @JulieBishopMP pic.twitter.com/3jNtS8Stvu

— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) September 21, 2018

“I’ve had many calls from my counterpart foreign ministers who are politely asking why I am no longer the foreign minister and what happened to the prime minister,” Ms Bishop said.

“There have been some rather unkind comments about Australia being the Italy of the South Pacific and the coup capital of the world.”

She said the consequences of the leadership change have been huge.

In the wake of the turmoil, Ms Bishop declined the new PM’s offer to continue on as Foreign Minister and there was strong speculation she may even quit politics.

Ms Bishop was seen by some as a capable replacement for Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: 60 Minutes

Since then, she has spoken on a number of occasions about the toxic culture in politics, the lack of female representation and the way Mr Turnbull was treated.

“We seem to have lowered the bar for the reasons that one can remove a Primer Minister from office.”

While she might be staying put — for now — two of Ms Bishop’s female colleagues have announced they won’t recontest the next election due to bullying and intimidation they had suffered.

When asked by Channel 9’s political editor Chris Uhlmann what she made of the “suits” in the Liberal Party, Ms Bishop replied: “Well, you can go through it person by person.

“(They are) no better than schoolchildren. In fact not as well behaved as schoolchildren.”

Now free from the constraints of her jetsetting ministerial position, Ms Bishop has committed to an even more significant leadership role — improving behaviour in the Australian parliament.

She said that Question Time, a major function of parliament, had descended into a daily shouting match that was more theatre than substance.

The ugliness of it was one of the reasons that women were reluctant to enter public life, Ms Bishop said.

Ms Bishop says Australia has become the “coup capital of the world”. Picture: AAP

In the 60 Minutes program, Mr Uhlmann also speaks to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tony Smith, South Australian MP, Rebekha Sharkie, Labor’s Anthony Albanese and Liberal Craig Laundy.

To each he poses the question: has Question Time become a waste of time?

In her first public address after the spill two weeks ago, she blasted the “appalling behaviour” in Canberra in the lead-up to the leadership spill.

Some of the things she had witnessed in parliament’s corridors “would not be tolerated in any other workplace in Australia.”

She slammed the party’s culture, saying it calls for a “much broader debate about workplace culture” including “allegations of bullying, harassment and coercion and the unequal treatment of women”.

“It’s not acceptable for our party to contribute to the fall in Australia’s ratings from 15th in the world in terms of female parliamentary representation in 1999 to 50th today. There’s a lot to be done,” Ms Bishop said.

Julie Bishop has been highly critical of her party since the spill. Picture: AAP

In her first public address after the spill two weeks ago, she blasted the “appalling behaviour” in Canberra in the lead-up to the leadership spill.

Some of the things she had witnessed in parliament’s corridors “would not be tolerated in any other workplace in Australia.”

She slammed the party’s culture, saying it calls for a “much broader debate about workplace culture” including “allegations of bullying, harassment and coercion and the unequal treatment of women”.

“It’s not acceptable for our party to contribute to the fall in Australia’s ratings from 15th in the world in terms of female parliamentary representation in 1999 to 50th today. There’s a lot to be done,” Ms Bishop said.

“Our party, in fact all parties, recognise they have a problem in attracting and maintaining women, diversity in general.

“I have seen and witnessed and experienced some appalling behaviour in Parliament, the kind of behaviour that 20 years ago when I was managing partner of a law firm of 200 employees I would never have accepted. Yet in Parliament it’s the norm.”

- The 60 Minutes interview with Ms Bishop airs this Sunday at 8.30pm on Channel 9.