Marble table a casualty of Abbott’s partying on night he was ousted as PM

A BROKEN marble table has parliament in a tizz today. Pictures have emerged of the damage caused during a party the night Abbott was ousted.

Senator Penny Wong asking questions in the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee at Parliament House in Canberra.

IT WAS a wild night and early morning for Tony Abbott and friends, and the hangover from their carousing won’t go away.

Officials are still dealing with reports a $590 Italian marble table was wrecked by Liberal heavyweights dancing on it, a Senate committee heard today.

The committee was told cleaners found marble debris in the cabinet anteroom on the morning of September 15, and “souvenir” shards were also seen in ministerial offices.

But Parliament House officials were kept out of the rooms for three days before they could inspect and photograph the damage on Friday, the Senate committee was told.

Labor pressed for more details.

However, Liberal Senate President Stephen Parry said he would investigate whether cleaners had breached confidentiality rules covering ministerial offices by reporting the spread of the chips.

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi asked whether there may have been cracks in the natural marble that caused the damage to the table.

On Monday night, September 14, Mr Abbott had lost the prime ministership to Malcolm Turnbull and had marked the occasion with a long drinking and dancing session with staff and colleagues.

The next day, Tuesday, there were reports former Treasurer Joe Hockey — who this week is expected to confirm he is heading to Washington as ambassador — and frontbencher Jamie Briggs were among late night revellers. It remains unknown who had damaged a marble table while dancing on it.

But Parliament House officials were kept out of the rooms for three days before they could inspect and photograph the damage on the Friday, a Senate committee was told today.

The officials were reduced to collecting “anecdotal” reports from cleaners who were allowed in, according to an email to Parliament House Services official Rob Barnes.

The officials had to negotiate with the Department of Finance to check on the damage. The only access allowed before then was to pick up the table.

“Following on from the function on Monday night we understand that a small round marble table is missing,” said the email sent to Mr Barnes on the Thursday.

“The cleaners went into the area on Tuesday morning and undertook a major clean up of the area. No additional costs were incurred as a result of this clean up.

“It is understood the table may have been damaged by persons standing or dancing on it. Anecdotally, we have been advised that pieces of the tabletop were present on the floor Tuesday morning and more pieces have since been seen in ministerial offices.”

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, chair of the committee hearing these reports, called the Monday night occasion “a celebration with loyal staff” and asked whether there might have been natural faults or cracks in the marble.

Senator Bernardi had a verbal contest with Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong on the broken furniture.