MP Clive Palmer is the current title holder for the Most Outrageously Loose Cannon in Australian Federal Politics, but in a major upset this morning, Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan attempted to snatch the crown from him by smuggling a replica pipe bomb into Parliament House.
Heffernan brandished the metal pipe during an appearance by Australian Federal Police commissioner Tony Negus, in order to make a point about lax security standards at Parliament House. Following cost cutting measures, certain key personnel, including MPs and their staff, are now allowed to walk through security gates unchecked, a situation Heffernan says will lead to shenanigans, possibly of an explosive variety.
“This building is no longer secure,” Heffernan said, before explaining exactly how to make a bomb, set it off and blow something the size of Parliament House “to buggery.” Police commissioner Negus agreed that a blackmail scenario like the one Heffernan described could be possible, presumably as the tiny blood vessels in his eyes simultaneously exploded.
