Again Foxy we see in this thread a total failure to understand that dreaded, or it appears so here, female sex has half the vote
Must laugh it will come back and savage this government

Belly,
For you it's just a game of Labor winning, for us it's hoping integrity & sense making a come-back !

Dear Foxy,

You wrote;

“ And Brandis further added," Ït may be the case that
she attended this particular event in the role she
assumed as Foreign Minister in advocating Australia's interests
including the promotion particularly in the US of the
Australian cinema and film industry." “

I'm sorry but for him to be saying “It may be the case” rather than just stating “she attended this particular event in the role she assumed as Foreign Minister in advocating Australia's interests including the promotion particularly in the US of the Australian cinema and film industry.” would get the whiskers twitching of most people. This wasn't a doorstop interview but rather a question asked in Senate Estimates where he would have been fully aware Bishop's expenses were going to be audited.

There was no way he was going to end up under that bus with her if the pressure had been more adroitly handled by non-government members.

Nor do I buy attending movie premiers in Sydney and polo matches on the Mornington Penninsula greatly advances Australia's overseas standing. They made up part of her 1.2 million dollar expense bill for the year.

Too much of a cynic when it comes to these things I'm afraid. Bronwyn Bishop got rightly admonished for her excesses but Julie Bishop seemed to breeze through relatively unscathed. I understand she is respected within the Labour party which may have been why she got different treatment but in my book parliamentary standards exist for a reason and Bishop and Brandis shouldn't be trying to rewrite them as they seemed to be at pains to do.

Indy my support for the Australian Labor Party is not because my parents told me
I understand a great deal more about politics than you have ever shown here
Labor is not just my pick, and it is not the leftist party you wish to claim it is
Out and about each day, campaigning for the state election
Still have time to see, and question, the flood of jobs for the boys and very very suspicious contracts
In truth right now the LNP seems to have acted more like the Mafia than a government

Dear Steele,

I still feel despite your arguments to the contrary
that Julie Bishop did attend because she was invited
as a Minister - and did attend in her official
capacity. Of course you are entitled to be skeptical
and I understand your skepticism. However, the
Ministerial Standards prohibit travel for private
purposes but allows travel when it is related to the
office. I feel that in Bishop's case it was related
to her office. She was invited in her official
capacity as Minister. Of course drawing the line
between private and public appearances can be tricky
at the best of times. The following link explains
further (note Mathias Cormann's expenses and those of
Kevin Andrews):

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2017/01/14/julie-bishop-expenses/

Dear Foxy,

I will confess I am at a loss as to why attending a polo match in Portsea would be vital to advancing Australia's overseas interest, perhaps you might give your thoughts as to why I am wrong.

Your own link does give credence to my stance;

“Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pulled out of an appearance at a glamorous Victorian social event following revelations she charged taxpayers $11,006 to attend several high-profile social events from 2014 to 2015. Ms Bishop’s Polo no-show occurred on the same day influential Australians called for a federal anti-corruption watchdog to be fast-tracked.”

If it was a vital, or even to a degree tangential to her duties as a minister then why pull out after a this more recent event after just a little scrutiny?

The fact that she was perhaps invited as a minister to an occasion doesn't give her the automatic right to accept and bill then the poor old tax payer for the privilege, especially as I'm sure she gets invited to a multitude of events.

Look, if she wanted to attend because she enjoys polo and was extended tickets and hospitality then okay. I might not like it but can live with it. However attending a polo match and billing the rest of us without a decent explanation of why it was deemed appropriate to her position or how it advanced the interests of the country spectacularly fails the pub test in my book and I'm a little surprised it doesn't your own.