Julie Bishop: deputy opposition leader, Orientalist, tactician. The Prime Minister has accused her of being able to bend spoons with her famous glare, but her talents extend further.

During yesterday's party room meeting, Bishop urged her Coalition colleagues to adopt the battle methods of Sun Tzu, the famous military tactician and author of the ancient tome The Art of War.

''Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory,'' she told the joint party room. ''Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.''

History does not record for how long Senator Barnaby Joyce scratched his head. But it was with this wisdom ringing in their ears that Coalition members sallied forth into a fresh battle against the government's proposed carbon tax.

Abbott Ambushed By Elderly Woman