Prime Minister Andrew Gerrard had it all. He was at the top of his political game, leading the parliament and the nation with his charismatic style for twenty years. The only thing he didn’t have was enough money.
Six months ago, after a boozy dinner with his friend, the president of Indonesia, Gerrard agreed to a funding deal for offshore immigration detention centres. Gerrard would take a clip of the money on the way through. Retirement sorted.
Until two weeks ago, when tragedy enveloped the parliament prior to the crucial vote to approve the first tranche of the funding for the immigration centres. A plane crash killed all politicians on board, and consequently Gerrard did not have the numbers to get his funding legislation through the House of Representatives as the opposition had the majority.
Using his devious influence on the Speaker, Gerrard demanded the entire legislation for the full amount of funding be rushed through the parliament, and thus ensured a plan to provide him $40 million secret commission in the process.
The clerk of the parliament became aware of the manipulation of the parliament and ultimately forced the Speaker to resign over her indiscretions with the prime minister. During the procedural confusion in the chamber, it was determined that the parliament has lost confidence in the government, a very serious action that causes the nation to be sent to an immediate federal election.