Amanda Vanstone’s Under Southern Stars, we have learned, isn’t her first foray into music.

Back in 1994, when Bronwyn Bishop left the red leather benches to become a member of the House of Representatives, Vanstone tried to put together a choir of Senators to perform that golden oldie “You can have her, I don’t want her” for broadcast on the ABC.

But Vanstone clearly fancies her skills as a lyricist – and, in a world exclusive, Crikey publishes her 1992 letter to Peter Reith, the man then responsible for selling the GST, on how a reworking of a Carly Simon song from the Working Girl  soundtrack could form the cornerstone of a coalition campaign:

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The letter bears the annotation “Discussed with AV 21/2/92” but didn’t feature in the campaign. Such a pity.

Still, Amanda clearly wasn’t discouraged. Which prompts us to ask: why doesn’t she perform her numbers? Think of the drawcard that would be.

Forget about Amanda the shock jock or Amanda the diplomat. We look forward to seeing – to hearing – Amanda, the new Florence Foster Jenkins.