‘Fight Labor’: Libs urge unity after Hastie resignation
Grace Crivellaro and Andrew Brown |
Rogue Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has been rebuked by a backbencher after he quit the shadow cabinet, with calls for unity mounting as the party deals with the fallout.
As Liberal MPs gathered for the first time since Mr Hastie resigned from the front bench on Friday to allow him to speak more freely on immigration, Victorian MP Mary Aldred warned the party could lose further seats if infighting continued.
Ms Aldred reportedly expressed disappointment with Mr Hastie’s resignation, telling MPs she came to parliament to “fight Labor” and not themselves.
The internal divisions within the Liberal Party and the resignation of Mr Hastie were not brought up during a joint party room meeting of the Liberals and Nationals before parliament sitting on Tuesday.
Liberal senator Michaelia Cash said the party needed to get back to business after the turmoil.
“There is nothing worse than politicians focusing on themselves, the Australian people, they hate that,” she told Nine’s Today program.
“I know where my fight is. My fight is with the Albanese government. It is a bad government.”
While the coalition is still reviewing the policies it will take to voters, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said a cohesive and united agenda was needed.
“We need to have very clear and ambitious housing policies. We’ve got to get the show run on energy and then there’s the tax and the other business regulation and productivity measures that we need to have,” he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
“Those are the things that we need to make sure we have ready to go to the next election if we are to end the fragmentation of the centre right, which is not in Australia’s interests.”
Liberal MP Dan Tehan, who is leading a review into the coalition’s energy policy, told colleagues a repeal of the moratorium on nuclear energy was being considered.
As parliament resumed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Labor colleagues implementing the domestic agenda was front and centre following his recent visit to the US, UK and UAE.
Labor is set to introduce laws to force employers to pay employee superannuation at the same time as their salaries and to list the far-right extremist network Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation under the criminal code.
Laws allowing foreign state entities to be listed as state sponsors of terrorism will also be introduced.
It follows the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador to Australia after revelations the nation’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed at least two attacks on the Jewish community in Australia.
The coalition flagged plans to introduce laws enforcing mandatory minimum sentences for pedophiles convicted of Commonwealth child exploitation offences.
The bill comes after a case in which a man was sentenced to four years and nine months in jail, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.
The man sexually abused his five-year-old daughter on at least 19 occasions and made 77 child abuse material files.
The offender later transitioned to become a woman and is serving the sentence in a female prison.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
AAP
