If ever we wanted a classic example of how damn broken our parliamentary system really is, we had it yesterday.

In one corner we had the rabid budgie smuggler talking-up a 'people's revolt' that turned out to be such a dud, that not even police would take it seriously, & in the other, big red, suitably indignant because her good name & that of her office had been publicly brought into disrepute.

There they both were folks, treating us to another second rate round of parliamentary theatre costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to stage, welded implacably to opposite sides of the stage, mouthing the most offensive language at each other.

But just as with Walt Disney's sheepdog & coyote, the whistle blew & they were suddenly the best of mates: just doing their respective jobs to the best of their ability & working together for Awstrayla!!.

And what blew the whistle?

Well, it was the sudden arrival of the Special Minister of State, Gary Gray, carrying the long-awaited Belcher report on parliamentary remuneration. The Belcher report recommends, amongst other things, that two existing entitlements - a $32,000-a-year electorate allowance and a first-class, round-the-world airfare every three years for study travel - should be replaced by equivalent salary increases ... let's just call it a lazy $50,000 for convenience sake.

So, in the midst of all the fire & brimstone, the warring parties managed to conjure-up an instant truce when it suited their self-interest. It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic for our country.

Talk about crooks ....