Mr Briggs’ career as a junior minister ended on Tuesday when he resigned, revealing he had been involved in a late-night incident with a female public servant in a bar in Hong Kong where he was visiting in his capacity as Cities Minister late last month.
When news broke of Jamie Briggs’ resignation from the frontbench after an unseemly incident in a Hong Kong bar, there was sympathy from some colleagues. But not surprise.
“He is a loose cannon on the grog,” one Liberal MP said. “It was always a question of whether he would work his way out of it before it got him into trouble.”
NSW Nationals senator John Williams even said Mr Briggs’ departure would improve the quality of the ministry. A Liberal who did not wish to be named said: ‘‘The IQ quota has gone up and the talentless arrogance quota has gone down’’ with the exits of both Mr Briggs and Mr Brough.
This effort easily eclipses Brigg’s earlier entry in the contest.
In September, the day after Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott as leader, Briggs was filmed being pushed into a party room meeting in a wheelchair. When rumours emerged that Briggs had injured himself dancing on a marble table in a ministerial suite, his spokesman said he had “seriously injured his leg while on a run this morning”.
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