The good news for Sussan Ley is that the story of her impulse buy of an apartment with ocean views during a taxpayer-funded trip to the Gold Coast broke in the silly season.
That means there won't be a grilling in the Federal Parliament or an earnest media conference by Bill Shorten, demanding she step aside in the absence of satisfactory explanation. He's at the beach.
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There are calls for Health Minister Sussan Ley to be sacked after revelations she bought a unit on the Gold Coast, while on a taxpayer funded trip with her husband.
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Minister's expensive impulse buy
There are calls for Health Minister Sussan Ley to be sacked after revelations she bought a unit on the Gold Coast, while on a taxpayer funded trip with her husband.
The bad news is that her conduct invites the "pub test" at the precise time of year when many Australians, drink in hand, are extremely well-placed to apply it.
And, let's be frank, the minister's explanation struggles to pass.
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As she tells it, Ms Ley flew to Brisbane with her partner in May 2015 for a government announcement about an expansion of drugs included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
In the statement provided by her office, she says they then went to the Gold Coast for meetings with patients about access to new medicines.
Her partner was there, the statement asserts, because he had been invited to accompany Ms Ley to a function in Sydney and had continued on to Queensland "under family travel arrangements".
All of this had been run by the Entitlements Management Branch to confirm it was within the rules governing taxpayer-funded travel - and it happened before Bronwyn Bishop's "choppergate" provided a lesson for all MPs to be extra careful about even the appearance of bending the rules.
And the purchase? It, the minister's spokeswoman's statement tells us, was neither planned nor anticipated.
This is where the statement either stretches credulity or sends a message of an executive branch of government out of touch, or both.
Who among us could fork out almost $800,000 for an apartment on a whim in between work meetings?
So far, the minister has not stepped up to answer such questions as precisely when and how the purchase came about.
This might be because the answers might be awkward, or because the minister is loath to open herself up to other questions, like whether she is negatively gearing the said property.
But it is not a sustainable position, especially when the Coalition is under fire over Centrelink's controversial $4.5 billion debt clawback project, amid ongoing accusations that it is unfairly targeting people and miscalculating bills.
In the meantime, those ministerial colleagues who are in front of microphones can say with justification that Ms Ley has a reputation for being scrupulous with taxpayer funds and is a very able, hard-working minister.
But when the hard questions are asked, all they can do is suggest they be addressed to Ms Ley. It's time to step up, minister.