Perhaps such a "rhetorical flourish" - his words and those of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, not ours - could be excused if it were an isolated embarrassment. But the minister's performance has been substandard. Mr Abbott eventually will reshuffle cabinet, when he tires of defending the indefensible. For the sake of appearing strong and stable, a sense of arrogance lingers around this government. This week the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to admit he made a statement promising no cuts to the ABC and SBS. Now he has expressed trust in Senator Johnston saying he is "doing an absolutely outstanding job following six years of neglect by Labor".

The minister's canoe blunder was only magnified by coming as it did on the same day Army Chief Lieutenant General David Morrison gave another impassioned speech about the need to tackle the culture of violence against women and children across the nation, and especially in the armed forces. That was a day ahead of the release of reports on investigations into abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy and the armed forces overall. The taskforce recommended a royal commission into ADFA. That makes sense, although it is possible to incorporate such an inquiry into current investigations into institutional child abuse. More generally, the taskforce confirmed that the armed forces have a disgraceful problem of abuse. Young people are a major target with 62 per cent of complainants under 21 years and 27 per cent under 18. Women are the primary target of sexual abuse. Most concerning, many of the complaints have not been dealt with properly, reflecting poor management and a culture of denial. About 600 alleged abusers are still in the permanent forces or working for the public service in the Defence Department.

The Herald is not convinced Senator Johnston is equipped to fix the problems. Warning signs emerged in September when respected retired general Jim Molan quit as an adviser to Senator Johnston on the forthcoming defence white paper, leaving voters to conclude that the minister was the problem. The government has given armed forces personnel a 1.5 per cent pay rise over four years when average increases of nearly 4 per cent a year had been earmarked for the Defence Department in the May budget. The minister has struggled to articulate clearly the rationale behind Australia's role in air strikes against Islamic State. And his latest statement criticising ASC sits awkwardly with his outrage at the ABC in February when the broadcaster allegedly impugned naval officers by reporting that they had supposedly forced asylum seekers to grab hot metal.

Senator Johnston's statement of regret about his canoe comments also fell well short of contrition, despite what Mr Abbott later claimed in Question Time. South Australian Liberals have distanced themselves from him. So have Cabinet colleagues. Mr Abbott must be considering not only the future of Senator Johnston but also the performances of other ministers. Health Minister Peter Dutton failed to make the case for the $7 GP co-payment. Education Minister Christopher Pyne has failed to justify his extreme university reforms. Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews keeps pushing the degrading six-month wait for the dole for the under 30s. Attorney-General George Brandis muffed the reforms to hate speech laws. And Coalition Senate leader Eric Abetz is struggling to form the relationships required to get legislation passed. Even Treasurer Joe Hockey should be worried about his inability to justify his budget. At least some signs of sense are emerging. The government has dumped the GP co-payment plan, it may water down its expensive paid parental leave scheme and compromise on university fee deregulation.

With little more than a week of parliamentary sittings left for 2014, it's a good time to get rid of dead wood.