‘Kangaroo court’: Prime Minister savages Berejiklian investigation

PM Scott Morrison has criticised the investigation into former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in a fiery exchange in Federal Parliament.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticised the investigation into former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian in a fiery exchange in Federal Parliament.

Mr Morrison said the government’s own proposal for a corruption watchdog was being blocked by the Labor party.

“They don’t want to have a Commonwealth integrity commission, they want a Commonwealth kangaroo court,” he said.

“A kangaroo court that can go and pry and pursue political vendettas as we have seen in New South Wales with disgraceful treatment of the former Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian who was chased out of office before that even made a finding.”

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the government had lost control and was “a complete shambles”, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Labor was “obsessed by the games that go on in Canberra” and not what matters to everyday Australians.

The latest comments came after an “undemocratic technicality” under pandemic rules saved the Morrison Government from an embarrassing loss in parliament.

The government narrowly avoided losing a vote regarding setting up a federal corruption watchdog after Liberal MP Bridget Archer crossed the floor to back a motion backed by the entire crossbench and Labor.

While a majority of MPs backed the move, 66-64, it failed to reached the absolute majority of 76 votes required due to Members being paired out of votes due to the pandemic.

Independent MP Helen Haines, who moved the motion, said the majority of parliament now supported bringing on a federal corruption watchdog.

“We were prevented by an undemocratic technicality,” Dr Haines said.

“If we were not under the absolute majority pandemic rules, we would be debating and voting.”

She called on more government MPs to cross the floor to set up a federal corruption watchdog before Christmas.

For the third time in one week, a Coalition MP voted against the government, following Senators backing a One Nation motion in the Senate on Monday and George Christensen doing so on Wednesday night.

It is putting Scott Morrison under more pressure with one week left in the parliamentary year before they head into an election year in 2022.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had a chaotic week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The continued acts of disunity from Coalition MPs comes despite Mr Morrison on Tuesday had warned his MPs that without “discipline and unity”, they would be allowing “a Labor Government to be elected”.

It is extremely rare for a government to lose a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, where it should have the majority of numbers.

Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer shocked colleagues when she seconded a motion put up by independent Helen Haines to debate a bill to set up a federal corruption watchdog, the equivalent of Queensland’s CCC.

Kennedy MP Bob Katter, veteran of the Bjelke-Petersen Government, and former Liberal and now independent MP Craig Kelly also supported the motion. 

While 66 MPs voted in favour of bringing on debate, compared to 64 against, it fell short of the 76 votes needed to reach an absolute majority needed.

The Morrison Government committed to setting up a federal corruption watchdog prior to the 2019 election, but has yet to do so.

On Monday Senators Gerard Rennick, Alex Antic, Matt Canavan, Sam McMahon and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells crossed the floor to support a One Nation bill seeking to overturn state government vaccine mandates.

Dawson MP George Christensen with Barnaby Joyce in parliament on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Senators Rennick and Antic are continuing to abstain from votes in the Senate and One Nation are voting against government bills, which means no contested legislation can pass.

Mr Christensen crossed the floor to vote with Labor on a bill seeking to reform class actions, though the government still narrowly won with crossbench support.