Were it in touch with how the majority of voters felt after Mr Tollner called a government staffer a “pillow biter” and “shirt lifter”, it would have forced the gaffe-prone politician’s hand and given him no option but to slink away into the shadows of the backbench.

Instead, Chief Minister Adam Giles stepped back and allowed Mr Tollner to plead his ludicrous defence of the comments before finally biting the bullet and resigning from the ministry on Friday afternoon.

In what other workplace would someone who made similar abhorrent comments to a colleague be allowed to decide their own fate?

It seems as though Mr Giles is prepared to accept his friend and former offsider as a rough diamond; a naughty schoolboy with a penchant for frequently putting his foot in his mouth, like the time in 2013 he allegedly called two indigenous MLAs “lubras” - a derogatory term referring to a dirty woman.

To the rest of the community - including many within Country Liberal Party ranks - Mr Tollner is viewed as nothing more than a cowboy who one day rode along Mitchell Street, tethered his horse to a tree outside Parliament House and decided he wanted to be a politician.

Put simply, Mr Tollner and his archaic opinions should have been punted to the backbench as soon as he made the comments.

It is well and truly time for the Giles government to take a serious look at its lack of professionalism.