Libs deny 'open rebellion' on infrastructure bill
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Playing down split: Liberal senate leader Nick Minchin (AAP: Alan Porritt, file photo)
Liberal frontbenchers have denied the Coalition is in disarray after last night's vote in the Senate on the Goverment's infrastructure bill, which saw six Coalition senators cross the floor.
Government Senate leader Chris Evans has described the events in the Senate, which saw the Coalition split on the bill, as "open rebellion" against Malcolm Turnbull's leadership.
After attempting to move several amendements which were rejected by the Government, the Opposition decided late last night after a meeting of shadow cabinet to back down and support the bill, which is to set up three nation building funds.
But two Liberal Party and four Nationals senators crossed the floor to vote against the bill because they objected to the inclusion of a $2 billion fund set up by the Coalition for rural and regional telecommunications.
Many other Liberal senators also abstained from the vote but Opposition infrastructure spokesman Andrew Robb says the vote does not represent a revolt among ranks.
"No it was not - it was not at all," he told Sabra Lane on ABC's AM program.
"If we'd insisted on the amendments for the fourth time it would have blocked the spending of tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure monies and the Government would have run the mother of all scare campaigns.
"They wanted to shift the blame for their dithering and mismanagement on to the Coalition."
Liberal Senate leader Nick Minchin, who abstained from the vote, has also played down the split.
"I can't deny the fact that four National Party senators and two Liberal party senators decided that they did think we should insisit on those amendements - that is a fact of life," he said.
"I respect their right to do that.
"The Coaltion as a whole implemented its decision not to vote for these amendments."
Liberal senator and defence spokesman David Johnston, who voted for the bill, says he has no issue with the Coalition senators who crossed the floor.
"I think there is a lot of people who'll want to beat this up," he told ABC 2 News Breakfast.
"Shadow cabinet took the responsible course that said infrastructure spending is very important to our country and if the Government takes this line we should not oppoose this bill and the objectives of this bill.
"And that is why I went into the chamber and voted for it."
But Senator Evans says the vote was the "most chaotic performance" he had seen in the Senate, and said it had undermined Mr Turnbull's position.
"Half of their shadow cabinet ministers were in open rebellion against Malcolm Turnbull's leadership," he said.
Greens leader Bob Brown also says the vote puts Mr Turnbull's leadership in doubt.
"Whatever the rationale behind this was - and it appears to be not making a ruckus before Christmas, not causing the Senate to sit on longer - it was a failed strategy," he said.
"And it's going to put a big question mark on Malcolm Turnbull's leadership."
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Comments (28)
Comments for this story are closed. No new comments can be added. If you would like to have your say on this issue, you can do so via the Emails section of our Opinion pages.
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observer:
05 Dec 2008 12:39:14pm
WELCOME TO THE LIFE IN OPPOSITION.........
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Brad:
05 Dec 2008 1:09:55pm
They seem to have trouble accepting that they are now the Opposition and not the government.
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Izvestia:
05 Dec 2008 1:22:05pm
Well never in the opposition nor in gov did the coalition split openly on an issue like this. MT's days are numbered?
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Jonno:
05 Dec 2008 1:26:24pm
That sounds a bit like a broken record. Come up with a relevant comment to the dicussion!
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Pravda:
05 Dec 2008 12:44:01pm
The Libs are condemned out of their own mouths.
They would be earning more respect if they admitted it was a stuff up rather than trying to defend what is a dog's breakfast.
They started the year with Brendan "Mr 9 Percent" Nelson and end the year with this!
When you're hot, you're hot, when you're not, you're not!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Doh:
05 Dec 2008 1:14:12pm
Hmmm. Government introduces bill. Opposition seeks amendments. Government rejects amendments.
What's an opposition to do?
Do they:
a) do what the PM is always asking and allow the bill to pass the senate; or
b) vote the bill down?
Answer:
you attempt the amendments and if the government does not see the merit in the amendments you pass the bill. The government then gets its way and wears any fallout caused by rejecting the amendments.
Next?Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jonno:
05 Dec 2008 1:27:28pm
Well said!
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snarf:
05 Dec 2008 12:45:34pm
Liberal's letter to Santa: Please send us a new leader for Chritmas k thx.
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dragon:
05 Dec 2008 1:02:26pm
Peter Costello is on his way !
Watch for him in your stocking in Christmas 2010 :)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jake:
05 Dec 2008 1:08:48pm
Very unlikely. For all his smug attitude he doesn't have much backbone to be leader.
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snarf:
05 Dec 2008 1:14:59pm
That's what Labor asked for in their letter to Santa ;)
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Remark:
05 Dec 2008 1:13:43pm
'The Australian' today reports:
"A Coalition source said the split was a direct challenge to Mr Turnbull"
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Many Liberals despise Turnbull because he is too, well, ~liberal~.
He only got, and holds, the leadership by the skin of his big white teeth.
There are many "Liberals" who are anything but "liberal".
And the ilLiberal faction wants an ilLiberal leader.
Some pundits are expecting Turnbull will be gone within 12 months. To be replaced by someone far less liberal. Tony Abbott maybe.
Tony Abbott 4 PM.
How does that grab ya!
LOLAgree (0) Alert moderator
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Izvestia:
05 Dec 2008 1:24:04pm
Yes, Mt is more liberal, and the legacy of Hoard era still lingers on with many of his decipals still around,
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michael:
05 Dec 2008 12:46:14pm
Politicians putting common sense before party politics?
AAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!! the sky is falling!!!!!!!!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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dragon:
05 Dec 2008 12:48:15pm
No No No ! .... We're all one big happy family here (hee hee) !
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spud:
05 Dec 2008 12:49:24pm
What an incredible comment this is on our media in general and the ABC in particular. A multi-billion dollar bill passes parliament and our media is concerned about trivialities like this, when everyone knew that once the decision was made, it mattered not one whit that some didn't bother to turn up to formalise the process.
What was the bill about anyway??? Must have been trivial. Can I have the money then?Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Ishmael:
05 Dec 2008 1:12:01pm
It wasn't trivial was it, you yourself refer to a "multi-billion dollar bill"? It was always going to pass, it was an huge tactical mistake to opose it to start with since inevitably there would be a back down...as there was yesterday over the private schools funding. And that's the problem and therein lies the News - these people are being poorly led when led at all, some are patently fed up, others resigned. We have no effective opposition - still think this is trivial?
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swamprat:
05 Dec 2008 1:16:14pm
Spud it's no use blaming the media or ABC if your party of choice are a disorganised rabble, each and every one of them has free will do do as they want and obviously they've done it regardless of the damage they're doing to their party or leader.
the opposition at the present is just a disaffected group of also run pollies who hav'nt yet accepted they've lost the government benches and have now become a weak riff raff without Howard's dictatorship, theres been constant leaks of brawls in the cabinet room, the sooner they put the old hacks out to pasture and bring in talented new blood the better for them, until then they have no hope of regaining government with this tired old bunch of has beens.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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P Q:
05 Dec 2008 12:50:21pm
The Coalition was a marriage of convenience to get into power. The Nationals can still get some power if they choose to ditch the Liberals and side with Labor. There is no longer any reason for the Coalition once they are out of power because they cannot share in the benefits by propping up each other.
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Mick.:
05 Dec 2008 12:56:53pm
what a pack of fools
enough said.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Findlay:
05 Dec 2008 1:28:50pm
No, not enough said.
If you want to make a substantive contribution, try putting forth an argument. Yes there was disagreement last night, but at least the Senators concerned were passionate enough in their beliefs that they stood by them till the bitter end. A better circumstance than what you have done with your simplistic and immature statement.
If you want to make a difference, stand up, if not shut up.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ishmael:
05 Dec 2008 1:06:00pm
Of course it isn't "open rebellion" or anything near it. It is however symptomatic of the malaise they suffer, no direction, no positive policies to espouse and landed with the thankless role of seeming "spoilers" of goverment initiatives. On this occasion they were all set to continue as usual and obstruct the Bill when word came that they were yet again to about face and capitulate. Some would have been angry, others confused, others simply resigned to the situation. Result? Confusion and a couple of honest souls with the courage of their conviction ignoring orders. Expect more of this since in effect they are without leader or even deputy leader.
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Robert:
05 Dec 2008 1:09:05pm
Poor Malcolm Turnbull.
He is learning, the hard way, what the "inexperience" factor looks like.
First, his education fund-blocking gamble fails (though Pyne will be given the blame for that), and now the infrastructure fund-blocking gamble has failed.
His dismal hyper-ventilating regarding the economic crisis has fizzled to nothing, and he can present no new ideas or plans -he can only "oppose" everything.
Bad timing Malcolm (or poor political judgment?) - people will be discussing Liberal leadership woes throughout the Christmas break...
I think, for 2009, the Libs need yet another leader: my vote is for Joe Hockey. The Libs NEED the "experience factor" badly!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jonno:
05 Dec 2008 1:34:42pm
Recommending some amendments is not blocking - it is the House of review (the Senate) doing its job.
The government did not accept the amendments so the Senate passed the Bill at Midnight I might add.
Maybe if these important Bills were not pushed through the Senate at the eleventh hour we would see better government.
Idea - maybe Parliment could sit more often?Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jake:
05 Dec 2008 1:13:10pm
It would also nice to have the article focus on some substance here, ie. the actual bill being passed. That being said, for Andrew Robb to talk about scare campaigns, was he asleep during his own party's advertising during the last election?
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snarf:
05 Dec 2008 1:29:30pm
"was he asleep during his own party's advertising during the last election?"
No, he was busy running his own scare campaign, claimng that thirteen or so Labor candidates were ineligble for office. His evidence was stuff he found on the web. Comedy gold.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Mike:
05 Dec 2008 1:23:03pm
In the past week I have seen ALP politicians and their supporters on these forums bash the opposition for:
Blocking (or threatening to block without amendments) a piece of legislation
Supporting a piece of legislation.
Being split with some members supporting and others not supporting a piece of legislation.
So they are apparently condemned no matter what they do.
Personally the fact that my party is allowed to cross the floor is one of the main reasons I vote Liberal. I'm glad they have some freedoms.Agree (2) Alert moderator
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Mr Samuel Di.Giovanni:
05 Dec 2008 1:29:54pm
Well the facts are starting to surface within the liberal party who are showing all the signs of a party about to explode Firstly they all thought the new mesiah Malcom turbull was going to turn the polls around and yet they primary vote is actually worse than when Nelson was leader .Then we have some shadow cabinet ninisters back satbbing Julie Bishop and for her to step aside form her current position as shadow treasurer ,we than open revolt twice in the senate when the Nationals voted against the wishes of malcom Turnbull directive and finally I dont know who is given advice on poltical tatics to malcom Turbull but to date that advice has been totally wrong when you analize the latset polls with the primary vote down lower than when it lost the last election My advice to Mr Turnbull is stop acting as goverement in exile and further get control of your the ego which is getting out of hand when he continue to communicate that all the decision that the goverement have taken are wrong and that Mr turbull is always right To date you and the liberal party have not learnt that the voting public are sick and tired of the politcs smear fear and untruths hence that was partly the reason why we voted Howard goverement out of power
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