Bronwyn Bishop: Dick Smith joins Barnaby Joyce as a backer

Whatever you may say about the ex-Speaker, she did her best ‘to support the struggling aviation industry’.

Barnaby Joyce loyally if unfortunately was saying Bronwyn Bishop should stay in her job yesterday morning. But he wasn’t alone. A most unlikely referee offered Bronny his backing and even suggested she deserved a promotion — Dick Smith. Cheekily citing her generous support of the general aviation sector, he told our very own Ean Higgins:“She’s the only politician in this country to support the struggling aviation industry and for doing that she should be promoted to prime minister.”

Common touch

Perhaps he somehow knew that Bishop only uses Australian-made hairspray. Or perhaps Smith’s support might also have something to do with similar tastes in helicopters. He owns a $US6 million luxury Agusta chopper himself, very similar to the model Bronny used for the fatal Geelong jaunt.

A drop in demand

Bishop’s entitlements entanglements hadn’t hit her standing on the Liberal rubber chicken circuit. She’d been out and about among the faithful and as active as ever. But what happens now is anyone’s guess. The organisers of the official commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the party’s federal women’s committee in Adelaide on Saturday week might now need a new drawcard for the do. Yep. You can guess who had been billed as the main attraction.

Rewriting history

Despite everything you can say about Bronny, at least she’s efficient. While Tony Abbott was still on his feet announcing she had walked the plank, her website read: “Thank you for your patience. The new site for Bronwyn Bishop is coming soon.”

Final slip-up

But Bronny’s laser-like focus on detail was broken by the events of yesterday. Her resignation statement included a reference to “continuing to serve the people of Mackellar as their local member, the job that has always been my first” — whoops — “responsibly”.

Keep it local

Bishop may be gone, but the Speaker’s job could stay in the ’hood. Among the tips for takers is Philip Ruddock, whose seat backs on to Bishop’s.

Faulty forecast

Back to Barnaby for a moment. The poor bloke must be wondering what he’s done to become a human lightning rod. As noted above he was on Sky’s Australian Agenda yesterday morning, standing by Bronny. “Bronwyn should remain as Speaker,” he said. I’ll be supporting her, because I think that’s what our role is.”

And four Sunday mornings before that he was on Insiders assuring Barrie Cassidy that, yes, he’d be turning up the following night to appear on Q&A.

Where else indeed?

Bill Shorten called for Bishop to be booted yesterday, but Strewth was more interested in remarks he made to the Societa Isole Eolie 90th anniversary bash the evening before. “Ideally we’d all be sitting out on a terrace, on a balmy summer evening beneath a flowering grapevine, watching the moon rise over the Mediterranean,” he began. “But if we can’t have that, where else would we want to be? Where else but Melbourne? And where else but Carlton? I lived in this area for many years,” the Labor leader continued. “I love it here. But you don’t have to be a local to love this place and appreciate its gifts.” Strewth notes he was less than effusive a few years ago about a certain pie shop just a short hop, skip and jump up Lygon Street from the Societa’s headquarters, the Eolian Hall — but it is on the north side of the road, not the south. Perhaps that’s what made all the difference.

Home from home

We all know of the effect politics can have on family life. So no doubt the freshly minted Greens senator for Tasmania, Nick McKim, will be moving into the somewhat splendid suite of offices on the Hobart waterfront occupied before him by Christine Milne and Bob Brown. They’re only about 50m from the premises of the state leader of the Greens, McKim’s significant other Cassy O’Connor.

Product placement

It’s not easy to find anything polite to say about the CFMEU but it must at least have a media buyer with a sense of humour. The union’s South Park “They took our jobs!”-inspired anti-China free trade agreement ad ran on Channel 10 yesterday — during The Bolt Report.

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