Turnbull praises embattled Bishop

Malcolm Turnbull has come to the defence of his deputy Julie Bishop, saying she is doing a "great job" as the opposition's treasury spokeswoman. Ms Bishop came under attack in question time in parliament on Monday as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and government ministers sought to exploit reports of dissatisfaction among some opposition frontbenchers over her performance.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard fired several shots at Ms Bishop, attacking her credibility as the two eyed one another in question time.
Ms Gillard poked fun at Ms Bishop, accusing her of trying to pass off a six-week
course she took at Harvard University in the mid-1990s as an extended period of
study.
"You do not buy credibility; you earn it. Something she has got to learn," Ms
Gillard shouted across the chamber as the two clashed angrily.
Ms Bishop then made a cat's claw gesture toward Ms Gillard.
Government ministers targeted reports that opposition frontbenchers Andrew Robb, Joe
Hockey and Peter Dutton were all possible contenders for Ms Bishop's job.
While acknowledging the role was a challenge, Ms Bishop said she had no regrets
about taking on the position in the reshuffle two months ago when Mr Turnbull won
the Liberal leadership from Brendan Nelson.
"I'm finding it a great challenge, of course, I've been in the job for two months,"
Ms Bishop told Sky News late on Monday.
"But I take a long-term view of politics and this is something I intend to prosecute
over the next two years, that is, holding the government to account on its bungled
management of the economy."
Asked if she was doing a good job on ABC radio, Mr Turnbull replied: "She's doing
great job".
He deflected any further questions, saying the focus should be on the performance of
Treasurer Wayne Swan.
Ms Bishop, who has been plagued by accusations of plagiarism and a stumble in her
first week in the role when she did not know the official cash rate, said she
consulted a wide range of people inside and outside parliament, including former
treasurer Peter Costello.
She also hit back at Perth academic Peter van Onselen who pointedly raised questions
about her ability in an article in several Sunday newspapers.
Ms Bishop accused Dr van Onselen of developing an unhealthy obsession with her and
said she started to "feel like I have a political stalker".
The two have fallen out over an admission by Ms Bishop that she had not authored a
chapter requested from her for a book about Liberalism, edited earlier this year by
Dr van Onselen.
The article had instead been written for her by her chief of staff Murray Hansen. It
quoted speeches by a former New Zealand treasurer but failed to attribute the
quotations.
"I am not a plagiarist. Nothing was done intentionally to take the words of another
and not attribute them to that person," Ms Bishop told Sky News.
Ms Bishop said her office had submitted the footnotes sourcing the quotations in the
article too late for the publication deadline earlier this year.
"It was a mistake and I accept responsibility for that," she said.
Dr van Onselen, who is a political scientist at Edith Cowan University in Western
Australia, said Ms Bishop had an opportunity over the next few months to prove her
critics wrong.
"To call me a political stalker is pretty juvenile by somebody who aspires to be the
treasurer of the nation," Dr van Onselen told AAP.
"I think what she does is she just descends into those kind of personal attacks to
try to take the focus away from her professional failings," Dr van Onselen told AAP.
Ms Bishop found another supporter in West Australian Premier Colin Barnett on
Monday, who described her as an "extraordinarily intelligent, extraordinarily
competent person".
But he said the public set higher benchmarks for female MPs.
"Julie Bishop is an outstanding member of parliament and she will continue to be
very successful," Mr Barnett said.