Matthew Guy weighs in on Tim Smith after the MP loses support of Liberal Party allies
Opposition leader Matthew Guy has spoken out after Tim Smith’s “train wreck” press conference and revealed his view of the MP’s future.
Victoria
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Opposition leader Matthew Guy has doubled down on the public comments made in which he called for disgraced MP Tim Smith to not recontest for his seat of Kew.
Mr Smith on Wednesday cast serious doubt over Mr Guy’s assertion that he told him to stand down at the next election.
Mr Smith dodged repeated questions about the matter during his “train wreck” hour-long press conference, only confirming that his boss had asked him to reflect on his future in politics.
Asked about the matter on Thursday, Mr Guy said he stood by his initial statement, but refused to address the apparent contradiction made by Mr Smith.
“I made some statements, I stand by them. I don’t intend to add to them. If there’s any subjective analysis of him or mine, or someone else’s, with respect, that’s for you to do,” he told reporters.
“I can’t go through the same thing for another hour like you did with him … what I said, I stand by. That is very clear. I can’t be any clearer.
“I honestly have no intention of talking about what I spoke to him one-on-one about. I think you would expect that I wouldn’t get into a ‘he said-he said’ in front of a TV camera.”
When asked what was said to Mr Smith after the press conference, Mr Guy responded: “What I discussed with him is private.”
But he confirmed that his widely-known friendship with the now former shadow Attorney-General hadn’t come to an end following the drunken crash.
“He’s a friend of mine, and remains so … I’m speaking to him everyday.”
Mr Guy maintained he didn’t feel undermined by federal colleagues who had made public comments about Mr Smith’s future in the Liberal party.
It comes after former Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for Mr Smith’s political career to be saved.
“I speak to the Feds as much as I speak to a lot of my state colleagues. We have a good relationship. It’s their party and it’s my party, we’ve all got friends within it, we’re all concerned about each other,” Mr Guy said.
“They have points of view and I do too.”
Mr Guy added that he hadn’t spoken to Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the drunken crash or its implications on his party’s election hopes.
Car-crash MP Tim Smith has lost his most important Liberal Party allies after two “train wreck” interviews in which he contradicted himself several times over his drink-drive smash.
More questions have been raised about what the MP was doing in the lead-up to Saturday’s incident when he careered into a child’s bedroom wall in Hawthorn, as police probe whether to lay further charges.
Furious colleagues accused the 38-year-old of “treating us all as if we’re stupid” after his two media appearances on Wednesday during which he refused to walk away from state politics – in defiance of Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.
After issuing a statement on Sunday saying he had been at a dinner and didn’t think he was over the limit, Mr Smith on Wednesday morning claimed he had just “a couple” of wines before getting behind the wheel of his Jaguar.
He also said he hadn’t eaten all day.
Sources close to the event rubbished his claims, saying he had been “smashing cocktails” with a small group of people at the home of a prominent QC before he recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.131, almost three times the legal limit.
By his midday interview, he was saying he had “quite a few glasses of wine”.
Mr Smith also drew the ire of the opposition leader’s office after casting doubt over Mr Guy’s assertion that he told him to stand down at the next election.
It is understood the relationship between Mr Guy and his former shadow Attorney-General has soured in recent days amid growing frustration at the way in which Mr Smith has responded to Saturday’s incident.
Sources close to Mr Guy said he remained furious over the drink-driving incident.
“As for him dragging it out, he doesn’t have the ability to make Tim see reason,” one source said. “For Tim, it’s all about Tim. Matthew Guy is hoping that at some stage the penny will drop.”
A Herald Sun poll of several state Liberal MPs found none willing to give Mr Smith their support.
Some have told Mr Smith his political career can now not be saved.
“Smith simply has to go or Guy will be cooked,” one said.
“How can Guy present as a leader if disgraced drunk-driving backbenchers are defying him?”
Another said: “I’d be surprised if there was anyone in the party who thought he could survive.”
It is understood several federal MPs who had been privately encouraging Mr Smith to hang on, including Josh Frydenberg, have now come to the conclusion his position is untenable and are openly weighing up potential replacements.
“He’s prolonging the inevitable and doing enormous damage to himself and the party,” one Liberal source said. “He needs to start thinking about his next career.”
The Treasurer refused to say whether he believed Mr Smith should continue in politics, saying only that he needed to do some “soul-searching” and “Tim needs to consider carefully what his state leader has said”.
Mr Smith said he would canvass the opinion of his Kew branch members ahead of the deadline for preselection nomination next Friday.
Liberal sources said branch support had dried up, with a poll of members finding they would not endorse Mr Smith at another election.
Mr Smith described the drink-drive incident as the “worst mistake of my life”.
“Does one error mean that a career is over forever? I’ve worked my guts out for years and years,” he said. “I’ve made a huge error and I’m asking for forgiveness.”
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