Nationals on back benches in post-split musical chairs
Zac de Silva, Tess Ikonomou and Grace Crivellaro |
Nationals MPs have been punted from parliament’s front bench after their dramatic split from the Liberals and will need to scrap with independents and Greens to grill ministers.
Politicians have taken their parliamentary seats in Canberra for the first time since the coalition’s messy political divorce, which has prompted an overhaul of procedures.
The Liberals are now considered the official opposition as the largest political party after Labor.
As a result, Nationals leader David Littleproud and his deputy Kevin Hogan, who used to sit alongside Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her shadow ministers, have been banished to the row behind the front bench.
Other Nationals MPs have been pushed further towards the back of the chamber.
Leader of the House Tony Burke taunted the former coalition parties for their dysfunction, while announcing a number of changes to parliamentary procedure.
“We still have the traditional crossbench over in the corner there,” he told parliament.
“But we now have the cross, the very cross and the apoplectic, all in front of us here.”
The Nationals would need to share their allocated questions with independent and Greens MPs as a result of the split, Mr Burke added.
During Question Time, government and non-government MPs usually alternate questions.
Mr Burke said the non-government questions would now be divided evenly between the Liberals and the crossbench, which includes the Nationals.
“This is the only practical way to be able to deal with the chaos that we have from those opposite,” he said.
The changes follow a rare moment of political unity when MPs and senators from all sides attended a church service in Canberra to mark the start of the parliamentary year.
Parliament was recalled early in January to pass hate crime laws in response to December’s Bondi massacre, but proceedings officially resume on Tuesday for a fortnight of sittings.
As they were entering the service, a number of MPs from the conservative side of politics said they were praying for a coalition reunion.
But Queensland Liberal MP Scott Buccholz said “divine intervention” was needed for that to happen.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led a reading at the church service, calling for love, peace and showing honour to one another.
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection,” he said.
In her gospel reading, Ms Ley encouraged people to stay faithful and not stray into the wilderness.
AAP
