‘We surrender government’: PM’s warning to rebel MPs

The Prime Minister has warned Coalition MPs rebelling over vaccine mandates they will ensure Labor wins the next election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered a blunt warning to rebel MPs that they were allowing a Labor government to be elected unless they showed unity and discipline.

Speaking at the Coalition’s party room meeting, Mr Morrison warned that if MPs surrendered discipline then “we surrender government”.

The five Coalition MPs who backed a One Nation Bill seeking to ban state government vaccine mandates angered some of their colleagues, with one government member saying “they did more damage in five minutes than Albo (Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese) has in three years”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned his back bench they risked losing government if they lacked discipline. Picture: Gary Ramage/NCA NewsWire

Rebel senators Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic initially followed through on threats by abstaining on a national security bill.

Outgoing Member for Dawson George Christensen, who has also reserved his right to vote against government policy, said the government could end “vaccine discrimination” as it controlled data on who had been vaccinated.

Senator Rennick said he will be withholding his vote for at least this fortnight unless it takes action on vaccine mandates.

“We’re working through the issues, hopefully that won’t be the case because we can get a solution,” he said.

No opportunities for rebel MPs to vote against contested legislation yet, but Religious Discrimination Bill will go to the House next week, which will put them in a difficult position on whether to abstain from voting.

LNP senator Gerard Rennick is continuing to abstain from voting with the government. Picture: Gary Ramage/NCA NewsWire

Mr Morrison made pointed comments to his colleagues in a meeting, saying “discipline and unity wins elections” and that decisions of the party would not always go their way.

“If we surrender that, we surrender government,” he said.

“We’re dealing with some difficult issues at the moment, that’s not new.

“I assure you we can win the election, I know the path from here to there, and it comes with discipline, effort and focus.”

Queensland’s most senior minister and Leader of the House Peter Dutton confirmed he had had discussions with his colleagues in regards to the issue.

“I have the utmost respect for my colleagues even in circumstances where I don’t agree with what they’re saying or what they’re proposing,” he said.

“There are some very firmly held views as people have, and they’re passionate about those views, and I’ve respectful of them.

“We’re a party and a parliament of diverse views and this is a place and this is a place where people can express them and debate them.”