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scrambling for the exits...
Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne scrambled for the exits in the House of Representatives this morning as suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson lent his "tainted" vote to the Opposition.
Mr Thomson has been sin-binned by the Labor Party over allegations he used union funds to buy prostitutes and fund his election campaign.
However, the Member for Dobell has previously said he would continue to vote with the Government.
That changed this morning when the Coalition wanted to bring on a discussion over the proposed increase to the Government's debt ceiling, and Labor tried to gag debate.
Traditionally, crossbench MPs never back gag motions.
So as Mr Thomson moved to vote for the Coalition, both the Opposition Leader and his manager of business tried to leave the chamber to cancel out his support.
Mr Pyne made it out of the door to negate Mr Thomson's vote but Mr Abbott could not escape in time and his vote was recorded.
Labor then tried to bring its gag motion again, prompting a repeat of the farcical scenes.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-30/thomson-votes-with-coalition/4041652?WT.svl=news0
- By Gus Leonisky at 30 May 2012 - 2:38pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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in accordance with the constitution...
Mr Abbott later told reporters that he believed the affair was "obviously a stunt orchestrated by Craig Thomson, Anthony Albanese and the Government."
"As soon as it became apparent that the Government was pulling this stunt, Christopher Pyne and I absented ourselves from the chamber. So we did not accept the tainted vote of Craig Thomson," he said.
"We did exactly the same thing with Craig Thomson that the former government did with Mal Colston."
Mr Thomson denied the accusation, saying he had not consulted anyone in Labor before the vote.
Instead, he accused the Opposition of pulling stunts with motions to suspend standing orders.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie is unimpressed by the whole affair.
"I thought that was quite an unedifying spectacle," he said.
"Craig Thomson has the right to sit in the chamber and to represent the people of Dobell. And for the parties... to be scheming in ways to make his vote not count, I think is to actually treat Craig Thomson's fundamental right in accordance with the constitution."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-30/thomson-votes-with-coalition/4041652?WT.svl=news0
hung like a parliament...
Parliamentary standards are again in the spotlight after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and manager of coalition business Christopher Pyne yesterday ran for the exits when suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson decided to vote for the first time with the coalition. Their aim was to negate Mr Thomson's vote.Amid a media fallout, Mr Oakeshott said the negative portrayal of politics in the country was overdone.
‘‘If you listened to public policy discourse right now and nothing else, you would think that our parliament is worse than Papua New Guinea, our economy worse than Greece, our electricity system worse than North Korea,’’ he told ABC Television.
‘‘This perspective question ... is something we all need to have a good hard think about it.’’
The hung parliament had been a force for good in many ways and had achieved outcomes that never would have happened under a majority arrangement, Mr Oakeshott said.
‘‘We are also seeing private members bills at a level no Commonwealth parliament in history has been able to get up - that is the community’s voice being heard.’’
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/oakeshott-defends-political-standards-20120531-1zjvo.html#ixzz1wP0EvXcC
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The government has a new (accidental) weapon: Craig Thomson... He can go and vote with the coalition on all issues and should Tonicchio be sticking to his word, he would cut off his wooden nose despite his lumber face... But one cannot trust Tonicchio... At some stage, when should he see victory by one nearly so close to his clogs, he could accept the "tainted" vote... Beware...
shooting themselves in the foot while sticking to their guns...
The Coalition has declared that democracy is at stake with Labor's "draconian" media reforms, but it is declining an opportunity to crush the bill by refusing to accept the vote of crossbencher Craig Thomson.
Earlier on Thursday it appeared that Labor's reform package was doomed to fail after Mr Thomson declared he would vote against the package and independent MPs Bob Katter, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie expressing strong misgivings about the bill.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/coalition-to-reject-thomson
First the reforms are not draconian. Second, News Limited has been a firm of propaganda and lies for many years and this legislation does not stop it so... All it does is prevent Uncle Rupe to own 100 per cent of all fabulist media in whichever format and porkies it chooses...