The hot chip is a glorious food — a staple of many Australian menus, and let’s face it, part of our diets probably more often than it should be. These magical pieces of deep-fried potato can fix hangovers and alleviate stress. So spare a thought for our pollies, their staffers and press gallery journos, who yesterday had to face lunch without access to their “dining room favourites” because of a broken fryer. The Department of Parliamentary Services sent out this email yesterday afternoon apologising for the inconvenience of a lunch without chips. The email says DPS will have a “work-around strategy” to make sure today’s lunch has a “full menu” — including chips. Maybe if there had been chips in the Trough yesterday, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer wouldn’t have accidentally voted with the opposition?

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