No deal: cabinet kills PM’s trade-off to save religious discrimination bill

Despite telling colleagues he was putting his leadership on the line, Scott Morrison’s bid to seal its passage sparked cabinet uproar.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had a plan to tie the religious freedom bill with a national integrity commission. Picture: Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison has been rolled by his own cabinet, despite telling members he was putting his leadership on the line in a bid to secure safe passage of his religious discrimination bill.

At Monday night’s cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister presented his colleagues with a plan to try to help secure enough votes for the religious bill by also agreeing to put a national integrity commission bill on the notice paper for debate. The bill would incorporate features of the crossbench version independent MP Helen Haines has long been championing.

The strategy involved a bid to horse-trade for votes on the ­religious discrimination bill, ­including the hope of convincing Tasmanian Liberal Bridget Archer not to cross the floor on the religious bill, and perhaps help the government win over crossbench MPs. The Australian understands cabinet erupted, with multiple members expressing concerns about the strategy. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher spoke strongly against the plan, along with others who raised concerns about retrospectivity provisions in the crossbench bill being amended in any version the government might put up for debate.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher spoke out about Scott Morrison’s religious discrimination bill proposal. Picture: Getty Images

“This is going to cause more problems than it solves,” one minister said in cabinet.

Close Morrison confidant Stuart Robert argued for the PM’s strategy in the cabinet discussion, as did Senate leader Simon Birmingham. One point raised in an attempt to pacify concerns about putting an integrity bill up for ­debate was that there were no guarantees doing so would lead to a vote in the chamber, much less the bill passing into law.

Ultimately, the cabinet ­rejected the PM’s strategy as too risky, one Liberal telling The Australian they thought it looked “too tricky by half”.

Ms Archer had been communicating with the executive branch of government over the summer about how she would like to see the government’s integrity bill drafted, believing it would be put on the agenda for the February sittings. She wanted any draft bill to include public hearings and public referrals. But she never ­indicated a preparedness to horse-trade support for one bill for ­silence on another.

The Prime Minister pushed ahead with the religious discrimination bill anyway, with five Liberals crossing the floor, forcing amendments before it was pushed up to the Senate. One cabinet minister said the PM looked “rattled” at being unable to carry the day in cabinet. On Monday morning, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash indicated there wasn’t time left in the parliamentary calendar to put forward the integrity bill before the May election.

Ms Archer expressed her displeasure to the PM via an intermediary, believing such a decision was at odds with commitments she’d been given over summer. Later that day, when Mr Morrison was asked about the scrapping of the integrity bill election promise, he appeared to walk back from the Attorney-General’s pronouncement, replying “the term is not completed yet”.

Dr Haines spoke to the PM on Tuesday as he sought her support for the religious discrimination bill without the ability to horse-trade on the integrity bill. Her support was not forthcoming. They discussed their respective integrity bills, with the PM telling Dr Haines there was too much distance between what she was proposing and what he would be willing to accept.

A spokesperson for Mr Morrison said they do not comment on cabinet discussions.

Independent MP Helen Haines. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage