GOOD LORD. Senate estimates hearings were on again this morning, and Senator Penny Wong and Attorney-General George Brandis had a good old chinwag about Julie Bishops‘s emoji use. It was excruciating. And not entirely unlike your mum getting upset when you didn’t accept her friend request, to tell you the truth.
ICYMI, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop once responded to an entire Buzzfeed interview in emojis, and this was her answer to thoughts on Russian President Vladimir Putin:
International diplomacy and emojis are not necessarily happy bedfellows, at least not until Gen Y are in power. It was due to this that Penny Wong and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials (DFAT) ended up in a conversation about emojis, and we are all the worse for it.
Penny Wong: “Can someone explain to me what is the public statement, or what is the message in relation to the red face? Is that we don’t like him? Or are we angry at him?”
Attorney-General George Brandis: “I’m happy to take that on notice and formally ask the foreign minister as to what the angry face emoji means.”
The entire DFAT rabble + Penny Wong: “It was red…” “..not angry…” “…it is angry…” “…oh it’s angry too…” “…it’s red and angry…” “…the red is symbolic of angry…”
This pretty much sums it up:
#estimates @SenatorWong questions George on @JulieBishopMP use of emojis @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/QH23rl0Y4A
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) October 21, 2015
And then Julie Bishop – WHO WASN’T EVEN THERE – schooled the whole bloody lot of them.
Happy to provide @SenatorWong ?? with a translation of emoji to a language Labor understands ??
— Julie Bishop (@JulieBishopMP) October 21, 2015
Between DeLoreans and Ridley Scott press conferences and this strong-emoji game, it’s alarmingly beginning to seem like the Liberals are down with the kidz, and Labor‘s lost it.
I mean, Bill Shorten‘s doing running selfies, FFS.
I rest my case.
Picture: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.
