Shalailah Medhora theguardian.com, Friday 14 November 2014
Rob Messenger defies Clive Palmer’s directive as speculation mounts that Lambie will quit PUP and become an independent
Jacqui Lambie speaks in the senate, watched on by fellow PUP senator Dio Wang. Photograph: Mike Bowers/Guardian Australia
Jacqui Lambie’s chief of staff has vowed to stay on in the role despite Clive Palmer announcing his sacking, widening the rift in the Palmer United party (PUP).
The PUP leader released a statement on Thursday saying Rob Messenger, chief of staff to senator Lambie, was being kicked out of the party and labelling him a “disruptive influence”.
But Messenger, a former Queensland Nationals MP said he had no intention of leaving.
“I do intend to stay on. Jacqui has invited me to stay on, and quite frankly it’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, the most satisfying in politics. We’re doing a lot of good for Tasmania, diggers and war veterans,” Messenger said.
Speculation is mounting that Lambie will quit the party and operate as an independent, forming a voting bloc with other crossbenchers, including Liberal Democratic party senator David Leyonhjelm and Family First senator Bob Day.
Messenger would not be drawn on whether Lambie would stay in the PUP, but admitted she was having discussions and “looking for support” from other senators.
She has it, in principle, from at least two fellow crossbenchers.
“Bob and I both have quite a cordial relationship with Jacqui on a personal level, so if she’s looking for a friend, Bob and I are here to help her,” Leyonhjelm said on Thursday.
Day said he would be happy to negotiate on a topic-by-topic basis with Lambie, but stopped short of agreeing to form a voting bloc with her.
The public spat between Palmer and Lambie escalated on Thursday, with Palmer calling his fellow party member a “drama queen” who was focused on “her own power”. Lambie has refused to be bound by Palmer’s deals on legislation and has threatened to vote against all government bills in protest at the 1.5% pay rise offered to defence personnel.
She plans to introduce a private member’s bill linking defence pay increases with politicians’ salaries.
“Some of the basic figures we’ve come out with from the parliamentary library show that defence has only received an average yearly increase of 3%, while politicians have received an average yearly pay rise of 7%. That includes in 2012 a pay rise of 33% which is almost $50,000 for politicians,” Messenger said.
Lambie planned to post the bill on her website on Friday to start a public lobbying campaign to get the bill through parliament.
Day said he respected her dedication to increasing defence pay.
“One can understand why she’s digging in on this, and good on her,” he said.
