November 28, 2011

"Julia Gillard has put [Peter Slipper] into the biggest job in the Parliament" ... Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

THE Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, has defended the Coalition turning a blind eye to the alleged indiscretions of Peter Slipper over many years, saying the party was in the process of pushing the Queenslander out of Parliament when Labor swooped.

Labor has struck back at recent attacks by the opposition that Mr Slipper, who quit the Liberals and replaced Harry Jenkins as Speaker, was a compromised character.

There are questions concerning Mr Slipper's personal behaviour and his use of parliamentary allowances, and Labor is anticipating the drip feeding of a Coalition dirt file on him in subsequent weeks.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd, said yesterday that if such indiscretions abounded, ''what have they sat on for such a long period of time,and why hasn't Mr Abbott brought all this forward?''

''He said on the record, within the last 12 months, that Mr Slipper has a complete clean bill of health on these questions,'' Mr Rudd said. ''Now is Mr Abbott saying to us that he has been dishonest in this period of time?''

Mr Abbott dismissed the point. ''The difference is that we were trying to manage Peter Slipper out of the Parliament. Julia Gillard has put him into the biggest job in the Parliament,'' he said.

In a shock ambush last week, Mr Jenkins announced his resignation and Mr Slipper filled the void. He was on the outer with his Queensland Liberal-National colleagues and was going to lose his preselection to the former Howard government minister Mal Brough.

Mr Abbott urged the LNP to back off until closer to the election so Mr Slipper would not leave the party and serve out his term on the crossbench.

His defection means Labor has a 76-73 majority after picking up an extra vote. The buffer has insulated it against losing a byelection and means it needs just three of the four crossbenchers upon whom it has depended.

Barring mishaps, it should now last the full term.

''Abbott can no longer claim there's some sense of chaos and the government's about to fall,'' a senior minister said yesterday.

''It's gone, it's a huge lift.''

The Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie, who has had the government over a barrel with his demand it legislate for poker machine reforms or lose his support, warned the government yesterday not to burn him.

Mr Wilkie conceded his bargaining position had been weakened but remained assured after the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, told him she intended to honour the agreement.

 

Phillip Coorey

Sydney Morning Herald chief political correspondent

Abbott tries to deflect Slipper finger-pointing