By Paul Sakkal
Opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce has leapt to the defence of Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, saying she was courageous to debate the issue of abortion despite its unpopularity.
The pro-life former deputy prime minister also pushed back against the arguments of shadow cabinet colleagues and his party leader, David Littleproud, who said abortion was entirely a state issue, underscoring differing views within the Coalition.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price at the ARC Conference on Tuesday.Credit: Nick Moir
“She could have fobbed you off and said ‘no comment’,” Joyce said about Price’s comments in an interview with this masthead on Tuesday, which he said she would have known would spark criticism.
“It shows she is an absolute conviction politician. She does things because she believes they are right. If people thought she just did things because they are populist, that’s not the case.”
Joyce – often a leading conservative voice in contentious debates such as renewable energy, on which he helped change the tide within the Coalition – said he had paid a political price for his public pro-life stance, which he knew was opposed by many Australians.
He disagreed with Liberal frontbenchers Sussan Ley and Jane Hume that the federal government had no role in abortion settings, saying he had been involved in parliamentary debates about connected issues, such as the rights of territories and access to drugs. Abortion is also partly funded by Medicare, a federal scheme.
Barnaby Joyce says he has paid a political price for his pro-life stance.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Littleproud said on Wednesday that abortion “isn’t anything we can address at a federal level”.
Price said on Tuesday that the federal Coalition should have a debate about abortion access, declaring pregnancies ended after the first trimester were immoral and saying late-stage abortions were akin to infanticide.
Senior Coalition MPs talked down the prospect of a party debate. At the same time, Queensland Labor latched onto the remarks to feed its state election campaign against the Liberal National Party, which is itself engulfed in a political firestorm over its stance on abortion.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said the country must remain vigilant about threats to safe and legal abortions, highlighting the political risk for the Coalition in raising the topic.
“I always get worried when I see this debate raised because I know that you have to remain vigilant on these matters, and hard fought for gains can often be wound back very quickly,” she said on ABC Radio National.
“As we see in so many things, when the Nationals raise an issue, they have a very significant say in that Coalition.”
Littleproud, speaking to 2GB on Wednesday, said Price did not mean to set off a debate on abortion when she spoke to this masthead.
“She was asked in a forum what her personal beliefs were. She didn’t start this and didn’t want it to be on the national debate. And so this wasn’t something that Jacinta went out and initiated with malicious intent,” Littleproud said.
Nationals leader David Littleproud.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Littleproud said he supported abortion access.
“I believe in the woman’s right to choose,” he said.
“But as a society, I think we should do everything we can to encourage people to go full term and to give those kids to loving families. I’m fortunate enough to have a brother that I wouldn’t have otherwise.” Littleproud’s older brother is adopted.
Price told colleagues privately on Wednesday that her remarks were misrepresented.
However, when asked in the interview with this masthead if the federal government should examine the topic of aborted babies being born alive, and whether some state laws made late-term abortion too accessible – political issues that have emerged in Queensland and South Australia – Price said those debates “absolutely need to be had”.
“Those tough conversations need to be had within the party room,” she said. Asked whether the Coalition should shy away from abortion debates, she said: “I don’t believe so, no. When it comes to the lives of anybody, including unborn children, these are issues we as leaders need to make sure we are thoroughly ... debating in order to make decisions.”
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