Swearing-in ceremonies are to Canberra what the Academy Awards are to Los Angeles. Before the official proceedings and the after-party (with the Governor-General alas, not Elton John), there's the red carpet style entrance. Ministers and their families, clad in their finest, arrive in limousines to the steps of Government House to be papped by the waiting press pack.
When it came to accessories, new Vocational Education and Training Minister Scott Ryan again stole the show with his humungous 98-year old Bible. The tome, a hand-me-down from his great grandmother, is bulkier than a (pre-internet era) Yellow Pages.
As for Barnaby, he hovered around the front steps looking perturbed, his family nowhere to be seen.
"Never have daughters mate," he muttered to no-one in particular before disappearing.
But the show got back on the road and Joyce's face beamed beetroot as he was officially pronounced Deputy Prime Minister. He complimented the look with a red tartan tie, a nod to his Irish heritage.
When Malcolm Turnbull swore in his first ministry five months ago, he wouldn't have expected to be back so soon with another major reshuffle. But several surprising plot twists - boozy nights in Hong Kong bars, ministers moonlighting in China, the re-appearance of the sordid Ashby-Slipper saga - made a sequel necessary.
The ceremony was followed by the obligatory "class photos": first everyone, then the just the Libs, the Nats, the women, the Victorians, the West Australians.
"What next: everyone who's gluten free?" said Joyce.
But there was time for one more. Malcolm and Barnaby - definitely not the Thelma and Louise of Australian politics - standing together, united. Ready for their close up.
I wonder if the gluten-free will go after him on social media for that comment 
He's easy to listen to as well, Abbott was the one that grated on people.
