This is where things could get really nasty. The accusations and recriminations have now turned public, like an ugly family brawl that has spilled onto the street. Right now it's pretty hard to see how it might be pushed back inside the house.

A brief recap. On Tuesday morning, team Andrews awoke to a leak designed to inflict maximum damage at the start of a parliamentary sitting week.

This time, it was an internal memo from Andrews' industrial relations adviser John-Paul Blandthorn, written about a year ago, suggesting the notoriously tempestuous UFU boss Peter Marshall should be asked to be more respectful of ministers, MPs and their staff.

The inference was that Andrews had misled Parliament, having previously said he had not received any internal complaints about Marshall's behaviour, including allegations the unionist made threatening comments suggesting 3000 firefighters were coming to bury axes in the heads of Jane Garrett and the Premier.