Beyond the reassuring knowledge that he can count, we can conclude other things. First, that there must be matters of serious public interest covered that neither side wants revealed. Alarm bells began ringing. Common sense, and bitter experience, tells us the more strenuously a politician strives to keep something secret, the more it should be made public.

Barnaby Joyce addresses the Nationals' first post-election partyroom meeting at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A second conclusion is that to actively deny that exposure dishonours the democratic process in which the nation and its elected representatives have just engaged in good faith.

Through the exchange of promises for support, elections represent the zenith of accountability between voters and their government. They are the singular moment in the triennial cycle when there is, at least notionally, an unbroken line running all the way from the bottom to the top - from the humblest individual constituent, to the highest levels of the executive.

This continuum is wantonly broken if the Prime Minister's first act is to ink a private arrangement in which policies and patronage are seen to be traded. Indeed, it should be noted in passing that it is actually illegal to offer material inducements to a federal parliamentarian to affect her or his actions.