Reference was made in Crikey earlier in the week to visits by the late Fraser minister Jim Killen to a certain Red Hill residence. The residence, of course, was the Canberra home of a senior parliamentary colleague – and the site of liaisons between the pair.

Their relationship was common knowledge to the Gallery at the time, but the media’s unwritten code prevented its reporting – even though there were more than a few sniggers about that fact that Killen’s partner in crime was known to attack claimants of single mothers’ benefits who fudged the details of their domestic arrangements. A young radical by the name of Laurie Oakes once sneaked a cute double entendre on the subject into a yarn, but that was about it.

The matter, however, came to the attention of the Prime Minister. Senior sources have confirmed that Ol’ Easter Island Face was forced to “counsel” the pair, as the public service expression puts it.

At the time of going to press, however, Crikey has been unable to confirm or deny that the immediate aftermath to the climax of these liaisons ever featured the phrase “Killen, you are magnificent!”