According to Barnaby Joyce he warned Malcolm Turnbull that other Liberal politicians were having sex with staffers when the latter introduced his infamous “bonk ban” for government politicians, the ban was reiterated by Scott Morrison. Joyce had been exposed as having an affair with a staffer which resulted in her pregnancy, and the political downfall of Joyce. Last night the ABC ran a public interest program outing two Liberal ministers, Christian Porter and Alan Tudge for similar transgressions of the "bonk ban". This again brings into question the abuse of power/position/authority, where a dominant figure can take advantage of a vulnerable younger female employee, even if the affair is consensual. Twenty years ago we moved on from the days when the office manager thought it was his right to knock off the office girl as being a perk of his employment.

In a late development yesterday it was revealed by the ABC's managing director David Anderson, appearing before Senate estimates, that there had been government pressure regarding the program, including Coalition staff calling and emailing senior ABC staff questioning whether the episode was in the public interest, and should it go to air. That in itself is interesting, political interference with the national broadcaster.

show just showed that a lot of men are hypocrites.

What is new? I used to work for a federal Labor politician who lost his super over sex scandals.

But the media has every right to highlight hypocrisy.

One thing is for sure, Porter may never fulfil his dream of becoming PM.

Dear Paul,

I watched the Four Corners program last night.
And I believe that the government tried to ban
it from being aired. It was not pleasant viewing
for a multitude of reasons. And it will undoubtedly
be discussed from many angles. But will it change
the prevalent culture in Canberra and the behaviour
"inside the Canberra bubble?" Affairs between
politicians and staffers have been going on for
decades. Men in power and their sense of entitlement
will continue to prevail and staffers will always
be found who will continue to oblige them.

Perhaps with more women in prominent positions as
well as more diversity in the selection of MPs
(rather than just the private schools clique) would help

Hi Foxy,

I watched both 'Four Corners' and 'Q & A' last night, its unbelievable that here it's 2020 that a "bonk ban" even has to exist among our political leadership. Its like having a written ban telling MP's there will be no shooting up in the chamber during question time. Does the local supermarket have a written policy that instructs the store manager, that he's not to have his way with the checkout chicks, and he's not to make promises to the girl, that she will be running the fresh meat department next week if she comes across and keeps him happy.

The other thing I can't stomach, is the holier-than-thou hypocrisy of the two in question. How they claimed, when it suited them politically, to promote the sanctity of marriage and their devotion to the family unit, when all awhile they were getting up to shenanigans in Canberra. I have long suspected that many within the Coalition only see women as a tool to be exploited, there is no real conviction that there should be equality of the sexes. For many in government, politics is still seen as men's business only, and you know what the women can do.

Dear Paul,

The behaviour of men in power is nothing new.
And it's not only in this country where this
behaviour happens. Look at American politicians
and leaders past and present. Things are slow to
change it seems. However I couldn't help
thinking - how much did Malcolm Turnbull really
know about what was going on right under his
nose, or was he too busy with his own problems at
the time?

The question now also is - what happens next to
the two men in question who hold such prominent
positions. Especially Christian Porter, Attorney General?
Will he keep his job? What should Scott Morrison do?