Joyce sucks up the embarrassment in question time

The former Nationals leader, simmering in the embarrassment of being filmed in just short of a fetal position on a Braddon street mumbling profanities into a phone, did what he had to do on the first Parliamentary sitting day since. He sucked it up.

"I'm here," he declared as he rocked up grim to his usual Sunrise chat with Tanya Plibersek and explained his "big mistake" through the always unwise mix of prescription medication and booze.

Hours later, after flying in from his north NSW electorate, the former deputy prime minister was almost an hour late for question time.

To murmurs from the benches on both sides at 2:57pm, Mr Joyce turned up in the lower house chamber for the good burghers of New England.

Reclaiming the empty space on the frontbench, he crossed his arms and had his photos taken.

Liberal MP Luke Howarth and later Nationals colleague Keith Pitt and pointedly sat next to him at different times. It was all about appearance. Not a word for Hansard. No hanging around.

Mr Joyce has done this before. Rocking up after a scandal or two and fronting up after a star turn on the ABC's Nemesis program reminding of those scandals.

Well away from the comedic efforts of Canberrans amusingly marking the spot and the moment on Lonsdale Street, the Joyce episode has been a great reminder of the sometimes catastrophic role of alcohol in politics and wider society.

Questions have flown in on his wellbeing and others, not unreasonably, have raised double standards in public commentary.

But how many of the others in Federal Parliament have been riffing in their minds off "there but for the grace of God go I"?

It is not an easy one for virtually everyone.