Here is the lay of the land: the DA is under immense pressure and the situation inside the party is febrile. The reasons for this are many and various but, to the party’s credit, it has acknowledged there is a problem and has commissioned a review of the organisation. It will be presented to the party’s federal executive on Friday.

The prospect of that review, together with a range of other controversies, has seen something snap inside the party, and its members are at each other’s throats. There are leaks, fights, slurs, vicious gossip and internal poison, much of which is playing out publicly...