It was a December sitting period, just before the summer recess, and Parliament was consumed by debates about WorkChoices, terrorism and voluntary student unionism. The political contest was heated and the working hours were long, which is why it was 10pm when a female adviser to a Howard government minister knocked off one hot night and walked out of the building.
Soon enough a car cruised up alongside her with a Liberal MP behind the wheel. He asked her if she needed a ride.
''We'd barely ever spoken but one evening he offered me a lift to the Holy Grail,'' the adviser, who requested anonymity, told The Canberra Times. ''When we arrived, he parked his car, grabbed my hand, placed it squarely on his crotch and asked if I liked the feel of that, then thrust his tongue down my throat.''
It's not your typical boy meets girl story, or perhaps it is in the rarefied realm of politics.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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