Abortion debate: Mark Latham accuses Premier Gladys Berejiklian of vote ‘deal’
Mark Latham claims there was a pre-election deal to bring the abortion debate on.
One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham has accused Premier Gladys Berejiklian of doing a deal with Independent Alex Greenwich prior to the election to bring the abortion debate on, fracturing her government, because she was concerned she would fall into minority government at the March state election.
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Mr Latham has accused Ms Berejiklian, who eventually won a two-seat majority, of running the “Berejiklian-Greenwich government”.
Mr Latham, in comments to The Australian this afternoon, said Mr Greenwich was being given a “rails run” by the government, including on introducing a private members’ bill on abortion, when other members like him introduced private members bills and saw them kicked off to parliamentary committees for six months or not debated.
Mr Latham said Ms Berejiklian, who has a majority of two, had given Mr Greenwich three concessions since being elected: the abortion bill, making him chair of a committee which he said was aimed at killing coal jobs and making him deputy chair of the lockout laws review committee.
He also attacked the cross-party working group which had worked on the abortion bill, saying it was led by Nationals MP Trevor Khan, who he said had been given more power than most ministers.
“Trevor Khan is like a shop steward for the leftist progressive issues of the parliament,” Mr Latham said.
He said of the prospect of a Berejiklian-Greenwich deal: “How else do you explain this convergence of the private members bill that is rammed through the parliament?
“I’m putting two and two together and getting four.
“This is the Berejiklian and Greenwich government.”
He said there were “those of us who have private members’ bills (put) off to six months-long inquiries while he (Mr Greenwich) gets the rails run.”
A spokesman for the premier said of Mr Latham’s claims there was a deal with Mr Greenwich: “This is completely untrue. It did not happen.”
Before the election, Mr Greenwich and fellow Independents wrote to Ms Berejiklian with a series of demands.
After the election, where she did not mention social issues, the Premier said social issues would be her priority in this term.
The Premier has suffered a blow with her support of the abortion bill, voting on the losing side of one amendment today. She has also faced the fact that on the bill generally, 22-24 of the 35 Liberals in the lower house have voted against the bill today, splitting the government.
Mr Latham said the only legislation the government had got through this term so far — setting up a disability commissioner — had occurred with Alex Greenwich negotiating for the government with the Animal Justice Party.
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