Toni,

That you had to refer to the politicians from another country simply meant that you had bugger all relevant to Australia. I don't give a rats arse what the conservatives or Labour do in their spare time in the UK the US, France or anywhere else.

SR,

The moment you start referring to the "pub test" I know that you have bugger all. Luckily, parliamentary rules are not determined by drunken farts, so unless you can show where parliamentary rules were breached all you have is piss and vinegar.

Competent staffers in either party are often moved around or even shared to prevent them being lost when an MP loses office. That VC has been described as very competent by several sources would justify her new positions whether she was pregnant or not.

Your declaration that she was not productive in her new roles is simply your inability to differentiate between your opinion and the facts which are frequently very different.

Dear Shadow Minister,

The pub test is not about 'drunken old farts' but used to reflect the average Joe's judgement if something is believable or not, or beyond the pale.

Now I know you very much look down on the average Australian and are quite dismissive of their concerns. While they may not set the rules they most certainly get a say in who represents them. Barnaby is done like a dog's dinner. He will not be the leader of the Nats through to the next election and probably will not stand again.

According to your Murdoch press Campion nearly tore Barnaby's office apart. Part of anyone's job is to get along with their work colleagues and form a coherent team. She did exactly the opposite.

You, as always, are going to yet again be on the wrong side of history on this one.

The Nationals “... recognise just how seriously Mr Joyce has been damaged by the revelations that he had an affair with a former staffer in his office”, and they are having a meeting to discuss his future this morning. (SMH). "He won't survive this if some evidence emerges of travel allowance misuse" one National MP said.

So, it's the money, not the appalling lack of morals Joyce has exhibited. Still, whatever might get rid of the silly man is fair.

SR,

The "Pub Test" is one of those vague and fuzzy methods of judgement that are largely meaningless as 99% of what politicians do would not pass the pub test, which is why when someone resorts to this measure I know that they have bugger all else and are grasping at straws.

BJ's behaviour is morally questionable, but is mirrored by millions of family breakdowns in Aus and by multiple past and present MPs, (I now believe Nick Mc Kim has joined the list) but given his previous poor judgement his choices now lie between abandoning his wife and family or his pregnant mistress which is Hobson's choice.

Given that Joyce has handed over all relevant information over to the press on a FOI, any breaches of the parliamentary code will soon come to light and if this occurs then his career is over. Otherwise all there is is innuendo, and he deserves the same treatment or lack of it that Shorten and Burke experienced.

Well if Mrs Joyce hadn't been interviewed we would not have been 'enlightened' re Barnaby's 'Love Child'. Mind you I feel sympathy for Mrs Joyce and her daughters. We don't know the whole story either. Maybe the Joyces were estranged before the affair started or not. But he cheated on her, and this will embarrass his public profile. We note that his portfolio has changed from Agriculture to transportation. There were questions about moving the Canberra based Pests and Veterinarian department to Armidale. I don't think this was tenable but this was before the bi-election and news of his separation. That came out after he got in. He certainly didn't mention it during his election. He was very quiet, and for good reason, the news was about to break.

Someone on a blog, said, Jesus forgives all, and so should we. My answer was 'yes' but the law doesn't. I don't think Barnaby was going to let this out, but his wife had different ideas. (Gudonher) And Vicki will get some public and political isolation, but that's the risk we take. C'est la vie'. I don't like him actually as a man or politician, seemed overwhelmed by taking on a Federal seat, to me anyway. If Tony Windsor hadn't backed out, having manipulated Richard Torbay from the scene and Richard has yet to be charged for any misconduct. He would not have stood a chance I feel. But he romped in during the bi-election, only being challenged in a pub, when someone approached him about his separation for which he knocked the man's hat off.

Dear Shadow Minister,

You wrote;

“The "Pub Test" is one of those vague and fuzzy methods of judgement(sic) that are largely meaningless as 99% of what politicians do would not pass the pub test “

What? Did you just make that up because it certainly looks like it?

This is pretty simple mate even though you appear to be struggling with it. How many people at your local pub would think what happened with Campion was above board if we asked them? 1 in 10? 1 in 100? I would say your type would be the only outliers so probably 1 in 10,000.

So how much further are you going to defend Joyce? When are you going to cut the fool loose? Might be time to jump.