Bishop is trying to stretch this for all it’s worth:
“My concern is the cover-up within the Prime Minister’s office,” she said.
“What did the Prime Minister’s office advise Belinda Neal to do?
“Now there are these allegations that staffers have been leant on to swear false declarations.
“That is serious, that is a criminal offence.”
Indeed it is a serious offence, and Belinda Neal appears to be in some pretty deep shit right now. But to imply that Rudd orchestrated a cover-up from Japan with no evidence to support the suggestion is pushing it uphill. The leadership (PM and acting PM) seems to have handled it sensibly – acknowledge the problem, try to move it out of the political arena and into an investigative process.
