John Della Bosca’s lover has her identity revealed. Discuss.

What a sordid mess this story is. I have been watching it unfold this week and wondering if I should post about it. At first I thought no. But now, I can feel you all busting to share your opinions on the bigger issues it raises. So I will.

If you're not a NSW reader or not across the details, I will summarise:

NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca was having an affair with a 26 year old woman for the first six months of this year. Unhappy with the way the relationship was panning out, she made the decision to go to the media and spill all the details of their affair.

The Daily Telegraph agreed to conceal her identity. Before the story broke, the newspaper questioned Mr Della Bosca about the affair and he decided to resign. That was a couple of days ago. Today, the woman's identity has been revealed after many media organisations did some digging. That's what journalists do. It's their job.

What a shocker of a week for John Della Bosca, his wife, controversial MP Belinda Neale (with him 'in happier times' above) and the woman, Kate Neill whose photo I am choosing not to publish. A shocker.

I've found so much of the coverage of it distasteful.

Like the part where people have been snide about Belinda Neale and somehow implied it was her fault ( I remember a similar reaction against Posh when David Beckham's affair was revealed).

And the part where people have openly wondered "why the hell would anyone have sex with HIM?", implying that the only measure of attraction or appeal is someone's physical appearance (this was similar to the insults levelled at Camilla Parker Bowles…..the idea that someone could be less than Brad/Angelina hot and STILL inspire love and lust from another person is apparently impossible for some people to get their superficial heads around). Surely, that premise is insulting to everyone involved.

I also find it terribly sad that Kate Neil felt so powerless and angry about her relationship with John Della Bosca that she thought she could reclaim that power, and exact revenge, by going to the media. And that she thought she could control the story and keep her own identity secret. You can't control the media of course. And look what's happened now.

It's a miserable situation for all involved.

It also raises some other questions. The fact he had an affair…should he have resigned? My own feeling is no. Had he been elected on a platform of fidelity or family values or had he been Fred Nile then that's another story.

But does a politician's personal morality affect his ability to do his job? And should the lives of politicians be open books?

What do you think about the whole story?