Benjamin Haslem
What goes around comes around.
When the Howard Government was in power, one of the most anticipated sessions during Senate Estimates hearings was the grilling of bureaucrats from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Senators Robert Ray and John Faulkner turned on quite a show when quizzing hapless public servants about the PM's wine bill amongst other things. The aim was to paint Howard with his snout in the trough.
During my time in the Press Gallery, we'd crowd around TV sets to watch the show.
Well now it's Kevin Rudd's turn to feel the blow torch and it seems from today's performance in Canberra that Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson has learned a great deal from watching the work of Ray and Faulkner.
From smh.com.au:
The opposition has accused Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of employing a butler to shine his shoes and put out his clothes in the morning while traveling...
"We've got this man who is travelling overseas with a butler or a valet or a footman or manservant, whatever it might be," he (Ronaldson) told a Senate estimates committee.
"If he puts out the ties and polishing shoes in the morning he's probably a valet. If he gets a cup of tea in the morning he's probably a butler, and if he carts the luggage around he's probably a footman.
The irony here is that the present Special Minister of State was responsible for defending the PM during today's hearings.
His name: Senator John Faulkner.
His response: the staff member was an executive assistant whose tasks included helping the prime minister with correspondence, invitations and travel arrangements.
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