Put the Slipper in

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And that’s exactly what they’ve done. The Golden Slipper – one of Australia’s marquee horse races – hasn't been included in the Hall of Fame. Instead, a 25-year veteran of Federal politics has been kicked from the backbench to the front of the chamber and into in the Speaker’s chair in the House of Representatives.

Its a Cinderella story for Peter Slipper, the one-time Liberal National Party member, who in 2009 is rumoured to have racked up more than $640k in expenses in six months as a humble backbencher. To Labour, “slippery” Pete was a shoe-in for the job. With Julia singing “slip sliding away” every time she thought of her tenuous grip on power, her eyes must have settled on her man seated high  across the chamber from her. Dressed in a smart pinstripe with a flashy green tie, given to him by Bob Brown to mark the occasion, Pete was obviously keen to slip a little closer to the PM.

You’ve got to feel for the little bearded man Harry Jenkins, the former speaker of the house who was punted from his post to make way for Slippery Pete. But he too gave everyone the slip by nicking out the backdoor to tell the Governor General of his intentions to resign quicker than Tony Abbott could jump on his bike.

There must have been ‘Something about Harry’ that made him step aside. Perhaps he’d had a quite word Mary, “our” Mary, the future Queen of Denmark who recently visited Sydney. There’s definitely ‘something about Mary’ After all, she did meet her prince charming at the Slip Inn. 

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