The problem tends more to be how to drag her off the victim's body.

When the curtain rose on question time yesterday, Ms Gillard sat calmly in the Prime Minister's chair (its customary occupant having set forth for Washington).

Ms Gillard greeted her inquisitors with the quietly confident air of a $10,000-an-hour alimony lawyer arriving at her first bout with Eddie Murphy.

Her first question came from Malcolm Turnbull. How did the acting Prime Minister feel about the fact that one of her own backbenchers - the blushing member for Dawson, James Bidgood - had said that very morning that there was "no question the Prime Minister was indiscreet" in his recent dealings with a certain US President?

Ms Gillard rose crisply and delivered a scathing and precise attack on the Coalition's own history of insulting US presidential candidates; cheeky, given that the air is still blue with her pal Mark Latham's thoughts on the subject.

Then Joe Hockey popped up with what looked an absolute slam dunk.

What did the acting PM think about the exploits of her Victorian ALP fellow traveller Dean Mighell, of the Electrical Trades Union?

Mr Mighell was reported yesterday to have blown $80,000 of his members' money on a lollapalooza trip to London featuring lavish meals, first-class accommodation and an unexplained call to a transvestite hooker called Suzana.

Mr Hockey was also interested to know if the Labor backbencher Mike Symon, who is a former sparky and ETU official, could shed any light on the affair.

Ms Gillard was not amused.

How dare Mr Hockey besmirch the good name of Mr Symon? How dare he interfere so crassly in a matter that was very properly before the Australian Securities and Investment Commission? Had the Manager of Opposition Business no shame?

After five minutes of this, Ms Gillard had officially achieved the impossible.