Either Christopher Pyne really, really doesn’t like Malcolm Turnbull, or he’s developed a new way of staying awake while the Prime Minister talks about himself.
If the latter is true – that Pyne was just trying to prevent himself dozing off – then someone needs to talk to the new Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science about not channeling ‘Angry owl’, and maybe softening his stare to ‘gormless idiot’, which is what Barnaby Joyce sitting beside him appeared to be going for.
The stare fest all came to pass during Opposition leader Bill Shorten’s rather ham-fisted attempt to smear Malcolm Turnbull over the fact he’s ridiculously wealthy, and that some of that wealth is parked with funds which operate in the Cayman Islands.
Turnbull, in reply, waxes lyrical in the style to which we fear we may all have to become accustomed… on luck, on how cleaners and taxis drivers work harder than he does, and how when we see poor people, we should all say, ‘There but for the grace of God go I’. As opposed to ‘I’m here to help,’ which is what Kevin Rudd would pretend to say.
Here’s a video of the exchange… with the exception of Christopher Pyne’s death stares, it’s pretty boring and thoroughly unbelievable, so we’ve added some captions and sound effects to help you get through it.
And if you’re interested in an in-depth exploration of the psychology and ideology that underpins the early days of the Turnbull Government, Dr Lissa Johnson breaks it down in typically stunning fashion here.