Australia's Iron Lady welcomed in US The Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, was introduced as "tougher than a woodpecker's lips" as she made her only public speech during her four-day visit to Washington, DC. Welcoming her to the leading think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the group's president, John Hamre, described Margaret Thatcher as "Britain's Julie Bishop," a remark Ms Bishop later described as a great compliment. And while Australia's unraveling diplomatic relationship with Indonesia was not mentioned in her speech or in a brief question and answer session afterwards, she could not escape the spying scandal as she left the building to walk the block or so the Australian embassy. Asked if she was worried about the possibility of future damaging leaks regarding other Australian neighbours she said she would not comment on intelligence matters. Asked about Barnaby Joyce's postponed trip to Indonesia she said Australia would continue to work on building a strong future relationship with Indonesisia. "We are determined to achieve that, "she said. Asked whether the faltering relationship could affect efforts to curb the flow of asylum seekers she said it was the responsibility of all nations in the region to stop people attempting the dangerous sea passage.