No-one said being a politician was easy - constituents have been known to throw eggs, refuse to shake hands, and occasionally fire at motorcades with high-powered rifles. But there are some sweeter moments too, such as being privately driven everywhere, kissing babies on the campaign trail, and lining your CV in preparation for a post-politics cushy consulting job.

Former MP Chris Pyne understands the epic highs and lows of politics better than most.

The highs? Creating the mental health iniative Headspace, spending $200 billion keeping the Australian defence force suitably armed and ready, and lining his CV in preparation for his post-politics cushy consulting job.

And the lows, Pyne conceded in his farewell speech that his tenure wasn’t always peaches.

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. I have tried to keep that creed as my lodestar throughout my career because I have had a fortunate life. I don't have a log-cabin story like so many people in this place—although I did once have to get my own lemon for a gin and tonic”

He then went on to say “whom much is given, much is expected”. A six figure income for 26 years in return for a slice of lemon seems fair.