Red shirts saga threatens to create more internal party concerns for Daniel Andrews
A Labor MP’s daring move to defy Daniel Andrews could be the start of a chain reaction that will topple the Premier’s house of cards.
Opinion
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Adem Somyurek has always been a numbers man. As a former Labor powerbroker and head of the party’s moderates faction, he spent his career counting.
When he entered parliament on Wednesday, he knew he had the numbers to have Labor’s “red shirts” rort effectively reopened.
The same three MPs who backed the government’s pandemic legislation last year – the Greens’ Samantha Ratnam, Animal Justice’s Andy Meddick and Reason Party’s Fiona Patten – again joined forces to oppose the move.
They were the only non-Labor MPs to do so, and most thought that would see the motion dead and buried.
Because while Somyurek knew close ally Kaushaliya Vaghela would cross the floor, no one else expected such a Dan-defying stunt.
Never before has a Labor MP crossed the floor in an Andrews government.
The move means Vaghela faces almost certain expulsion from the ALP for breaching party rules. While Liberal MPs have the right to cross the floor, the nature of the Labor caucus means they must stay firmly in their place – unless allowed under a conscience vote.
Vaghela, who was dumped by the party in a factional dispute and had nothing to lose, will now likely join the crossbench.
And that means passing legislation just got that little bit harder for the government.
Where the government has enjoyed the support of Ratnam, Meddick and Patten to wave legislation through many times in the past, it will now need to secure an extra vote every time it seeks to pass new laws.
On top of that, there is now the very real possibility of a messy, public investigation into the misuse of taxpayers’ funds.
Somyurek’s successful motion has sent the “red shirts” matter, and others, to Ombudsman Deborah Glass for consideration.
She could investigate the matter for a second time or refer it to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog, which is Somyurek’s goal. It will likely embroil the Premier, ministerial staff, electorate officers and other MPs on the eve of an election.
In the messy factional wars that have dogged Labor in recent times, this is the first time it has come back to bite Daniel Andrews.
And it is the first hint that he is losing his strongly held grip on the party.
Already, there are internal party concerns about whether or not Vaghela’s daring move will embolden others who feel crossed by Labor.
Somyurek isn’t the only former minister with an axe to grind. Robin Scott and Marlene Kairouz were unceremoniously dumped after being embroiled in the Somyurek affair.
They have both now been disendorsed for preselection and each has the potential to inflict their own damage, should they wish.
As do dumped Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire and former ministers Jenny Mikakos and Gavin Jennings.
If they do, the government’s house of cards could come crashing down.
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Originally published as Red shirts saga threatens to create more internal party concerns for Daniel Andrews
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