- From: The Australian
- November 25, 2011
Julia Gillard has snared a crucial extra vote on the floor of parliament but faces opposition claims she engineered the resignation of Harry Jenkins as Speaker in a grubby deal to replace him with renegade Liberal Peter Slipper.
The resulting shift in the nation's political power balance has significantly increased the likelihood that Labor will serve its full three-year term by giving it a buffer in the event that NSW MP Craig Thomson is forced to resign over an alleged corruption scandal, and enhancing its ability to win approval for its policy agenda.
The realignment has shaken the opposition, with Mr Slipper quitting the Coalition to sit as an independent and attributing his decision in part to pressure over his preselection within Queensland's Liberal National Party. Yesterday's shift came on the final parliamentary sitting day for the year, which also marked the fourth anniversary of Labor's 2007 election victory to end 11 years of Coalition rule.
According to the government, the drama began at about 7.30am when Mr Jenkins told the Prime Minister he wanted to "participate in policy and parliamentary debate" and could not do so as Speaker, a role he had held for four years.
Within an hour, Labor's leader in the House of Representatives, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, had offered the job to Mr Slipper. The Queensland MP, Deputy Speaker under Mr Jenkins, had been under pressure in his Sunshine Coast electorate of Fisher by opponents wanting to dump him in favour of former Howard government minister Mal Brough, who lost his seat in 2007. Mr Slipper's acceptance of the nomination and subsequent resignation from the LNP robbed the opposition of one vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, while Mr Jenkins's return to the backbench added a number to Labor's minority government.
The change means that while Labor previously required the parliamentary support of four crossbenchers to win approval for legislation, it will now require only three, leaving greater room for negotiation with the independents and Greens MP Adam Bandt. As the government made clear yesterday that it would honour all commitments it had made to the independents to secure their support, including contentious changes to poker-machine gaming rules, Tony Abbott accused Ms Gillard of forcing Mr Jenkins to "walk the plank" in a "sordid political fix" designed to advance her own interests.
Declaring yesterday "a day of infamy", the Opposition Leader said no one would believe Ms Gillard's claim that Mr Jenkins had quit of his own accord. "An honourable man -- the member for Scullin -- has been sacrificed to protect the political life of a failing prime minister," Mr Abbott said. "The Australian people don't believe you and they want you gone." Discussing Mr Jenkins's resignation on Twitter last night, Labor MP Mike Kelly said the former Speaker had wanted to "take one for the team".
Mr Abbott said the government had defied conventions of Westminster government, which he said required the government of the day to provide the Speaker. The Liberal leader said the controversial Mr Slipper was no longer the Coalition's problem. "He's not my man; he's the Prime Minister's man now," he told ABC's 7.30. "She's the one that has to defend him."
Mr Abbott also demanded the Prime Minister reveal what she knew about Mr Jenkins's intentions before yesterday and whether she had courted Mr Slipper. "We should not have had the former Speaker going to Government House today to tender his resignation," Mr Abbott said. "We should have had the Prime Minister going to tender her resignation."
However, Ms Gillard said the first she heard of Mr Jenkins's intentions was yesterday morning and that she had held no discussions with Mr Slipper. Accusing Mr Abbott of peddling "bizarre conspiracy theories", Ms Gillard returned fire, saying he had continued with a campaign of unrelenting negativity in "the longest dummy-spit" in Australian history.
Mr Albanese said he had not pressed for Mr Jenkins's resignation nor sought to recruit Mr Slipper before yesterday. He said Mr Slipper had run for the speakership after last year's federal election and that it was clear he was interested in the job. "It's the LNP in Queensland who were clearly hounding Mr Slipper out of their own political party," Mr Albanese told Sky News. "That's been pretty public."
Mr Jenkins said he was leaving the job "placidly" and with his humour intact and made no comment about the opposition's claims that he was pressed to give up the job he had held for four years, at a cost of about $100,000 a year in salary. Speculation was rife in Parliament House that, while Ms Gillard and Mr Albanese had kept out of the affair until yesterday, other Labor MPs had been courting Mr Slipper as it became clear he was unlikely to win LNP nomination to contest the next election. Sources also said Mr Jenkins's decision was linked to Labor's efforts to bolster its numbers in the event that claims Mr Thomson used a union-provided credit card to hire prostitutes, which are under police investigation, led to him being forced out of parliament.
Facing expulsion from the Coalition for taking the role, Mr Slipper told parliament he would surrender his LNP membership after 17 years as a member of the Nationals, 19 years with the Liberal Party and three with the merged LNP. "I must say that I've been encouraged in this opportunity to serve the parliament in a new way by the action of some people in the LNP in recent times," Mr Slipper said.
Last night Labor MPs were considering the policy implications of the change in numbers. Sources said previously rejected legislation, including a $2.9 billion move to increase the thresholds for private health insurance subsidies, might be put to a fresh vote. They also conceded the change might trigger a caucus move for Labor not to require mandatory pre-commitment technology on poker machines.
Every party - big or small, deceased or ticking - has a Queensland rat to curse. According to the government, the drama began at about 7.30am when Mr Jenkins told the Prime Minister he wanted to "participate in policy and parliamentary debate" and could not do so as Speaker, a role he had held for four years.
The change means that while Labor previously required the parliamentary support of four crossbenchers to win approval for legislation, it will now require only three, leaving greater room for negotiation with the independents and Greens MP Adam Bandt. As the government made clear yesterday that it would honour all commitments it had made to the independents to secure their support, including contentious changes to poker-machine gaming rules, Tony Abbott accused Ms Gillard of forcing Mr Jenkins to "walk the plank" in a "sordid political fix" designed to advance her own interests.
Declaring yesterday "a day of infamy", the Opposition Leader said no one would believe Ms Gillard's claim that Mr Jenkins had quit of his own accord. "An honourable man -- the member for Scullin -- has been sacrificed to protect the political life of a failing prime minister," Mr Abbott said. "The Australian people don't believe you and they want you gone."
Discussing Mr Jenkins's resignation on Twitter last night, Labor MP Mike Kelly said the former Speaker had wanted to "take one for the team". Mr Abbott said the government had defied conventions of Westminster government, which he said required the government of the day to provide the Speaker. The Liberal leader said the controversial Mr Slipper was no longer the Coalition's problem. "He's not my man; he's the Prime Minister's man now," he told ABC's 7.30. "She's the one that has to defend him."
Mr Abbott also demanded the Prime Minister reveal what she knew about Mr Jenkins's intentions before yesterday and whether she had courted Mr Slipper. "We should not have had the former Speaker going to Government House today to tender his resignation," Mr Abbott said. "We should have had the Prime Minister going to tender her resignation."
However, Ms Gillard said the first she heard of Mr Jenkins's intentions was yesterday morning and that she had held no discussions with Mr Slipper.
Accusing Mr Abbott of peddling "bizarre conspiracy theories", Ms Gillard returned fire, saying he had continued with a campaign of unrelenting negativity in "the longest dummy-spit" in Australian history. Mr Albanese said he had not pressed for Mr Jenkins's resignation nor sought to recruit Mr Slipper before yesterday. He said Mr Slipper had run for the speakership after last year's federal election and that it was clear he was interested in the job. "It's the LNP in Queensland who were clearly hounding Mr Slipper out of their own political party," Mr Albanese told Sky News. "That's been pretty public."
Mr Jenkins said he was leaving the job "placidly" and with his humour intact and made no comment about the opposition's claims that he was pressed to give up the job he had held for four years, at a cost of about $100,000 a year in salary. Speculation was rife in Parliament House that, while Ms Gillard and Mr Albanese had kept out of the affair until yesterday, other Labor MPs had been courting Mr Slipper as it became clear he was unlikely to win LNP nomination to contest the next election. Sources also said Mr Jenkins's decision was linked to Labor's efforts to bolster its numbers in the event that claims Mr Thomson used a union-provided credit card to hire prostitutes, which are under police investigation, led to him being forced out of parliament.
Facing expulsion from the Coalition for taking the role, Mr Slipper told parliament he would surrender his LNP membership after 17 years as a member of the Nationals, 19 years with the Liberal Party and three with the merged LNP. "I must say that I've been encouraged in this opportunity to serve the parliament in a new way by the action of some people in the LNP in recent times," Mr Slipper said.
Last night Labor MPs were considering the policy implications of the change in numbers. Sources said previously rejected legislation, including a $2.9 billion move to increase the thresholds for private health insurance subsidies, might be put to a fresh vote. They also conceded the change might trigger a caucus move for Labor not to require mandatory pre-commitment technology on poker machines.
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