"And, yes Barnaby, I agree with you: it is ridiculous that you would have a mine in the middle of Australia's best agricultural land. But what's even more ridiculous is that we've got a local member who's also [the] Minister for Agriculture, and has allowed this to happen on his watch." Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce. Credit:Andrew Meares Then, to foreshadow that she's about to dial the seriousness up to 11, Senator Lambie lowers herself into a chair. One almost expected her to do a 180-degree rotation, Ernst Blofeld-style, clutching a white cat. The senator coldly reminds Mr Joyce that he "could resign from the frontbench, because obviously the Liberals have no respect for you and the Nationals". But perhaps the most beguiling feature of the clip is its use of multiple camera angles. Well, two angles, at least. The director alternates between a front-on, half-body shot and a perplexing side-profile which zooms in and out with no discernable rhythm.

Fingers entwined and staring down the camera's barrel, Senator Lambie drops a bombshell - she'll be appearing on the ABC's Q&A on July 20. "Why don't you come on too?" she teases, with the hint of a Hannibal Lecter smile. "Stop being the Liberals' lap dog and bring back the old Nationals attack dog." By this point, the dispatch surely ranked alongside Pauline Hanson's "if you are watching this, it means I have been murdered" testament in the pantheon of great Australian political films. But Senator Lambie, relentless in her defence of prime agricultural land, was not done yet, attacking her victim while he was already down, reminding him of his heyday as the Nationals' renegade. "Where's the old Blue Heeler, Barnaby, who crossed the floor of Parliament 19 times?" she asked.

Our children and grandchildren won't be able to eat dirt, Barnaby, so it's time to stop licking the dirt off the Liberals' boots "Our children and grandchildren won't be able to eat dirt, Barnaby, so it's time to stop licking the dirt off the Liberals' boots." The member for New England, no doubt shaking in his own boots at this point, has already sought to distance himself from the controversial decision to allow the coal mine - which is slated to disturb more than 4000 hectares of land. The $1.2 billion mine will be located 25 kilometres south-east of the northern NSW town of Gunnedah. On his official Facebook page, Mr Joyce labelled the decision "unfortunate" and said it was "ridiculous" to permit a coal mine "in the midst of Australia's best agricultural land".

Mr Joyce has been under fire from his constituents and environmentalists for not doing more to stop the mine. He has ruled out resigning from the frontbench - despite taunts from Labor - saying it would not achieve anything. Follow us on Twitter