ALP in need of crossbench friends as rebel walks away

The Andrews government will now need the votes of five crossbenchers to pass legislation in Victoria’s upper house.

Labor MP Kaushaliya ­Vaghela has quit the party. Picture: Facebook

The Andrews government will ­require the co-operation of at least five crossbenchers to pass legislation in Victoria’s upper house after Labor MP Kaushaliya ­Vaghela quit the party.

Ms Vaghela did not front parliament on Thursday, after crossing the floor on Wednesday to vote for her former factional ally Adem Somyurek’s motion to refer the Premier to corruption watchdog IBAC over his alleged role in the “red shirts” rort.

However, colleagues said she intended to resign from the ALP. Daniel Andrews said her ­actions were a clear breach of party rules which would see her kicked out of caucus.

“The rules of the party are very clear. Let’s wait and see whether (expelling her is) necessary. If she’s already resigned, then there’ll be no need for us to deal with that issue,” the Premier said.

Mr Andrews repeatedly ­refused to discuss Ms Vaghela’s decision, claiming the IBAC referral precluded him discussing the allegations Ms Vaghela and Mr Somyurek have made against him.

Ms Vaghela did not respond to calls on Thursday, but in a statement issued late on Wednesday she said IBAC’s investigation, which has heard damning evidence about the faction of which she and Mr Somyurek were members, must be extended to examine allegations of branch-stacking within the Premier’s Socialist Left faction.

“I was a former staff member for the Socialist Left faction, so I know all about their branch-stacking activities and their electorate officers being used for factional purposes,” she said.

Ms Vaghela’s decision to cross the floor came after ALP powerbrokers in December dumped her as a candidate for the November state election, and after IBAC heard in November that her husband was paid taxpayer-funded salaries by three other MPs to do factional work.

Her move to the crossbench means Labor now has 16 seats in the 40-member upper house, down from the 18 the party won at the 2018 election. The Coalition holds 11 seats, and Ms Vaghela’s move to the crossbench takes its numbers to 13.

While Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick and Reason Party MP Fiona Patten commonly side with the government on contentious legislation, Ms Vaghela and Mr Somyurek’s defections mean Labor will need to persuade another two crossbenchers to vote with it to achieve the majority required to pass bills.