Liberal Party deserts Berejiklian over abortion bill

Almost two-thirds of Berejik­lian’s Liberal colleagues voted against legislation decriminalising abortion.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks during Question Time in the Legislative Assembly. Picture: AAP

Laws decriminalising abortion passed the lower house of the NSW parliament late last night, but not without political cost to Premier Gladys Berejik­lian after almost two-thirds of the Liberal MPs in the chamber voted against the legislation.

After two days of debate, and with Attorney-General Mark Speakman introducing amendments providing extra safeguards against Health Minister Brad Hazzard’s wishes, the bill was successful, 59 votes to 31, at 10.45pm, and will now go to the upper house the week after next, where it is also ­expected to pass. Fourteen Liberals voted for the laws and 19 against.

The Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill, which Ms Berejiklian and Mr Hazzard backed, was successful not because of the votes of Ms Berejiklian’s MPs but largely because of the votes of the majority of Labor and Nationals members.

Ms Berejiklian suffered an ­embarrassment yesterday when­ she voted against a Speakman amendment that the house passed 49-41 to require the pat­ient’s “informed consent” to an abortion. The Premier believed such consent already occurred.

She was forced to charter a jet to Cairns for COAG today as the debate rolled into the night and her commercial flight options closed.

Yesterday, former mental health minister and Liberal MP Tanya Davies unsuccessfully tried to move the period when abortions could be performed without extra safeguards from 22 weeks to 20 weeks.

She also tried last night to ­introduce into the bill a ban on abortions ­because of sex selection, but this too was unsuccessful.

A successful amendment from Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams instead required the secretary of health to report within 12 months on whether there were any abortions because of sex ­selection.

Mr Hazzard said he had spoken to the Chief Obstetrician last night who said there was no ­evidence abortions were happening because of sex selection.

Mr Speakman also moved amendments to tighten access around late-term abortions.

From early yesterday, it was clear the bill, as a whole, would pass when Alex Greenwich’s move to read it a second time passed 55 votes to 36.

Under the legislation, two doctors will have to approve abortions after 22 weeks.

Tighter restrictions on abortions come in at 22 weeks in recent Queensland legislation and 24 weeks in Victoria.

Mr Speakman and Planning Minister Rob Stokes dropped their originally proposed amendment to require late-term abortions to go before a hospital ethics committee.

Mr Stokes complained that the two MPs were originally misled when told all such abortions now went before such a committee.

As the debate raged yesterday, dividing cabinet and the Liberal Party, One Nation NSW leader and upper house MP Mark Latham accused Ms Berejiklian of doing a deal with the independent Mr Greenwich before the election to bring the abortion debate on, fracturing her government, because she was concerned she would fall into minority government at the March election.

Mr Greenwich introduced the bill but for much of yesterday Mr Hazzard handled all the amendments in the house, ardently ­defending the bill.

Mr Latham said Mr Greenwich was being given a “rails run” by the government as most private member’s bills were kicked off to committees for six months.

He said Ms Berejiklian had given Mr Greenwich three concessions since being elected: the abortion bill, making him chair of a committee that he said was aimed at killing coal jobs and making him deputy chair of the lockout laws review committee.