Christopher Pyne plays down ‘leaked’ tape, Coalition divisions

Christopher Pyne has downplayed reports of Coalition divisions amid audio of his gay marriage comments being released.

Christopher Pyne: “We’re going to get it. I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks”. Picture: AAP

Christopher Pyne has downplayed reports of internal divisions within the government and told ABC’s Q&A program that leaked audio of his controversial speech to the Left faction of the Liberal party has unnecessarily “excited the press”.

“I spoke to a group of supporters — generally — of marriage equality on Friday night, and told them what I’ve said many times before in the media, which is to have hope that there will be marriage equality in Australia, that it will come eventually,” he said.

“The only thing that’s made that statement remarkable is that there’s apparently a ‘secret leaked tape’ which has excited the press and turned it into a sensational story. But actually, obviously I support the policy. I want there to be a vote of the people so that they are part of that outcome. That was a policy we put to the parliament.”

Will the leak of Pyne's conversation advance the case for same-sex marriage, or hinder it? @cpyne responds #QandA pic.twitter.com/mRBMForPzG

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) June 26, 2017

He reiterated his support for the Liberal party policy, and told the program Malcolm Turnbull runs a consultative government where everyone in the party room feels “part of the team”.

“Obviously there are issues about which we don’t agree. And there are conscience issues where we’re not required to have to agree — why would we have to agree? That doesn’t mean the government is in crisis if we have different views,” he said.

“People are allowed to have different views. I support the party’s policy on marriage equality, and I’m in favour of marriage equality if I had a vote at the plebiscite. Other people don’t share those views in the Liberal Party, or the National Party, for that matter. That doesn’t mean the party doesn’t get along perfectly well in delivering things.”

He said he had been friends with Tony Abbott for a quarter of a century and would like to think they were still friends.

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Tony Abbott said Mr Pyne was disloyal and wasn’t being “fair dinkum” with the Australian people, a sentiment repeated on Monday evening by Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi and former chief of staff Peta Credlin on Sky News.

“Of course, leaders change in political parties,” Mr Pyne said. “My vote for Malcolm Turnbull, over my whole career, is not a secret. But obviously when Tony Abbott was the leader, I got up every morning — usually ... at 6:00am, to do telephone conference calls every day, to work out how we could get rid of the Rudd/Gillard Government — and we did. And that was for Tony Abbott. But more than Tony Abbott, it was for the Australian people, because I believe we were getting rid of a bad government and putting in a better one with Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.”

Listen to the audio of Christopher Pyne talking about gay marriage below.

Pyne ‘the most untrustworthy person’

Former Liberal MP Cory Bernardi has launched a scathing attack on his one-time colleague Christopher Pyne, labelling him the “most untrustworthy person” he’s ever met in politics.

The leader of the newly formed Australian Conservatives party told Andrew Bolt’s Sky News program on Monday night: “Character is everything in politics and I’ve known Pyne longer than anyone in that parliament and he is not a person of good character. He is the most untrustworthy person I’ve ever met in this business.”

Mr Bernardi was interviewed on the program after Bolt aired the full audio of Mr Pyne speaking to a factional meeting at Sydney’s Star Casino on Friday night, where he said the fortunes of the Left faction of the Liberal party had “waxed and waned” but were now a strong influence in the government.

.@corybernardi: @cpyne is the most untrustworthy person I have ever met in this business. #theboltreport MORE https://t.co/RiA1TnwtK4 pic.twitter.com/MIM3hUiSnz

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) June 26, 2017

Mr Bernardi said he believed the Left faction was “running the show”.

“I think we are right to be suspicious … I do know that the same people who betrayed Tony Abbott are the people that are running the show under the Turnbull government,” he said.

“I think they cooking up something to try and get same-sex marriage off the agenda but the price of that will be it will destroy the Liberal party”.

He said he had started his own party because he was frustrated by warring factions within the Liberal government: “It has lost its way. I got tired of beating my head against a wall.”

Sky News commentator and Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff Peta Credlin told the program the leaked tape is going to disappoint and anger ordinary Liberal voters.

“I think the most reprehensible of those comments from Christopher Pyne was that at every single ballot he proudly proclaimed his disloyalty. I can’t believe he is an idiot enough to say that in a room full of 150 plus people. But I also can’t believe he is proud to be that disloyal. Proud of his disloyalty. I can’t fathom that,” she said.

“John Howard was right. Christopher Pyne was never to be trusted, he never put him in the cabinet and look what’s happened.”

Peta Credlin says the most reprehensible comments from @cpyne was how he 'proudly proclaimed his disloyalty'. MORE https://t.co/E6iWhCGm8F pic.twitter.com/BGPUBDh9JK

— The Bolt Report (@theboltreport) June 26, 2017

“I think it’s the arrogance, that the party is just a plaything for factional warlords and for lobbyists and for moneymen, particularly out of Sydney, that this isn’t the party of Menzies anymore, the shopkeeper, the artisan, the ordinary person,” Ms Credlin said.

“Clearly this is no longer a party led by men and women of the centre right, this has become a turf war of ideology for the hearts and the souls of the Liberal party and these goons on Friday night are standing around congratulating each other for a factional turf war inside the one party when the biggest opponent sits across the chamber, it’s called the Labor Party and they are willingly handing Bill Shorten and the most left-wing party the keys to the front door ... I find that is reprehensible,” she said.

“It’s become a plaything for men, mainly men I have to say, who have really small minds, for little men with soft, soft backbones, with no ticker, no heart and no soul. That’s who is running the Liberal party now.”

Peta Credlin says the issue of same-sex marriage will split the Coalition. #theboltreport MORE https://t.co/E6iWhCGm8F pic.twitter.com/4Mwtd6X5j2

— The Bolt Report (@theboltreport) June 26, 2017

The full audio of Pyne’s speech to the Left faction of the Liberal Party at a dinner on Friday night was aired on early in the program.

The Minister for the Defence Industry can be heard receiving a huge cheer from the crowd as he talks about advancing marriage equality.

Mr Pyne refers to fellow attendee and same-sex marriage advocate Christine Forster (using her maiden name Abbott) as he tells those gathered at the function marriage equality “might even be sooner than everyone thinks”.

“And see Christine Abbott here, she is working on it as well, she would have been here two years ago when we last said we were going to get it. We are going to get it, I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks. And your people, your friends in Canberra are working for that outcome.”

He says the Left faction has survived despite people warning that the “party was swinging to the right”.

Mr Bolt said the speech, which was given at the Sydney’s Star Casino, represented an “ugly war between the dominant left wing faction … and the right wing faction of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott”.

“(The Liberal party was) already a party on the brink of revolt against Turnbull yet, on Friday, at the Cherry Bar, Pyne made this speech virtually declaring war,” he said.

“The Liberal-right now know for sure, their party has now been hijacked by the left.”

“If Turnbull is not now dumped, bet on this: the Liberals will crumble … and Shorten is a shoe-in. Next Prime Minister of Australia.”

The Australian has contacted Mr Pyne for comment.

Turnbull: “no plans to change” plebiscite policy. Picture: Michael Klein

‘No change to plebiscite policy’

Malcolm Turnbull has attempted to hose down divisions within his party over gay marriage, declaring there are “no plans to change” the government’s plebiscite policy.

A damaging split within the Liberal Party has re-emerged as former prime minister Tony Abbott accuses Christopher Pyne of being disloyal and warns any moves to dump the government’s plebiscite policy would be a “breach of faith” with the public.

Mr Pyne, the Defence Industry Minister and one of the Liberal’s most senior moderate MPs, has sparked divisions after reportedly telling colleagues at a federal council after-party that gay marriage would happen “sooner than everyone thinks”.

The Prime Minister, who supports gay marriage and favours a free vote in parliament, adopted the plebiscite policy in a bid to appease conservative MPs when he ousted Mr Abbott.

Legislation to set up the plebiscite was voted down by Labor, the Greens and some independents in November.

“I can understand the disappointment of those who are frustrated that the gay marriage issue has not been resolved but the reason it has not been resolved is because of Bill Shorten,” Mr Turnbull said.

“We took a very straightforward policy to the election, which was there would be a vote on gay marriage in the parliament after the Australian people had voted to support it in a plebiscite. Now, the reason there is not gay marriage lawful in Australia at the moment is because no plebiscite has been held. I believe if a plebiscite had been held it would have been carried but the reason the plebiscite has not been hold is because Bill Shorten blocked it.”

The policy was expected to cost $160 million but legislation to enable a people’s vote was knocked back by the Senate in November.

Mr Turnbull repeatedly blamed the Opposition Leader for the stalemate as he stood by the plebiscite policy, claiming Mr Shorten did not “care whether gay people can get married or not”.

“He is only interested in politics. If he was interested in the issue, he would support the plebiscite as he had before but as on so many other things, he has back flipped and twisted and turned,” Mr Turnbull said.

Shame on Turnbull and Pyne. They play games while Australians wait for marriage equality. Get out of the way.
https://t.co/zE6LQ3YcAc

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) June 25, 2017

Mr Pyne’s claim was rejected by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison, who said the government had not “moved away” from a plebiscite, while Mr Abbott used the comments to hit out at “factional string-pulling”.

“On this question of same-sex marriage, which I gather was very much a part of (Mr Pyne’s) speech, we took a policy to the election, it was a very clear policy that there would be no change without a plebiscite,” Mr Abbott told 2GB radio.

“To dump the plebiscite, to do anything without a plebiscite would be a breach of faith with the people.”

In divisive comments leaked to Sky News host and News Corp Australia columnist Andrew Bolt, Mr Pyne reportedly told members of the Left on Friday night that the moderate faction was “in the winner’s circle” but had to “deliver a couple of things”.

“One of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country,” Mr Pyne said.

“We’re going to get it. I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks. And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome.”

Mr Pyne also reportedly celebrated the success of the Liberal Party’s Left faction.

“Two years ago … Malcolm Turnbull was the communications minister and now he’s the Prime Minister,” he said. “I would say that our fortunes are pretty good at the moment. And most of your senior cabinet ministers — George Brandis, Marise Payne, yours truly — quite a few of us are very senior ministers in a Turnbull government.

“Now there was a time when people said it wouldn’t happen, but George and I kept the faith. We voted for Malcolm Turnbull in every ballot he’s ever been in.”

Bolt says he will air the full recording on his Sky News show at 7pm tonight.

Mr Abbott seized on Mr Pyne’s “confession” that he had backed Mr Turnbull all the way, saying it appeared that “one of our number has been caught out”.

“If you are a member of the cabinet, you’ve got to be loyal. Christopher Pyne was not just a member of my cabinet, he was actually in the leadership team and it’s important you show loyalty. If he’s to be believed on Friday night that loyalty was never there, which is incredibly disappointing,” Mr Abbott said.

“You’ve got to be fair dinkum with the Australian people and it looks like that’s not been true of Christopher.”

Shorten: lets work together

Bill Shorten, who was supportive of a plebiscite in 2013, called on Mr Turnbull to “fix” the impasse on gay marriage and put the issue to a vote in parliament when it next meets in August.

“Why do we need to have a divisive opinion poll funded by taxpayers when we are already there already? Surely this nation could use $170m better than trying to placate the right wing of the Liberal Party?” the Opposition Leader said.

“I understand Mr Turnbull has got disagreements in his own party but I don’t think he should come out and just bag everyone else. Let’s just work together. People are sick and tired of the he-said, she-said, the bickering going on in the parliament. Marriage equality is a very good example where we can reclaim some faith in Australian politics by us just having a vote in the parliament. It is literally as simple as that.”

‘No plans to alter policy’

Several moderate Liberal MPs have attempted to find a way forward to legislate gay marriage following the stalemate within their party.

Outspoken Liberal MP Warren Entsch recently told The Australian he expected the Coalition party room to discuss the issue “very shortly”.

The Treasurer insisted the government was not “talking” about gay marriage and was focused on Australians’ power prices, passing the budget and schools funding “going up by $23 billion”.

“To the extent that it’s (gay marriage) on the agenda it is our policy which is the plebiscite. There is no move away from the plebiscite policy,” Mr Morrison told Seven’s Sunrise program.

“We have a policy. We took it to the last election, that’s the policy we’ve honoured in this parliament. The only party standing in the way of people having their say on this issue is the Labor Party.”

Speaking from London, Mr Joyce said he was concentrating on issues that helped voters “get the best return back through the farm gate”.

“I’ll continue to focus on that and what happens at dinners in other parts of Sydney is of no real consequence to me,” he said.

Mr Pyne did not deny he had made the comments but in a statement this morning clarified that the government had “no plans to alter the policy” of a plebiscite.

“I support marriage equality and if Labor had supported the plebiscite, marriage equality would be a reality now,” he said.

‘Maybe his comments were aspirational’

Mr Entsch, the government’s most outspoken supporter of gay marriage, said he had not discussed the issue with Mr Pyne.

“I can only guess that maybe his comments were aspirational and not necessarily based in reality,” Mr Entsch told The Australian.

“He’s entitled to his opinion. I’m not changing my advocacy; I just continue to work on it. I’m not working to any time frame that’s been established by Christopher.”

Mr Entsch wants the Coalition party room to discuss its plebiscite policy “sooner rather than later” as a “first step” towards resolving the issue.

Mr Pyne was recorded at a reception held at The Star casino’s Cherry Bar. Attorney-General George Brandis, powerbroker Michael Photios and Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman were reportedly in attendance.

I support marriage equality and if Labor had supported the plebiscite, it would now be a reality. The govt has no plans to alter the policy.

— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) June 25, 2017

Asked about the speech, Mr Pyne’s spokesman denied there were imminent plans to legalise gay marriage.

“The Minister did not say action on marriage equality was imminent,” he said. “The Minister said that while marriage equality had failed to materialise over the last two years it would become­ a reality­ eventually­.”

‘See comments in context’

NSW Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly said Mr Pyne’s comments needed to be seen in the context of late night bar room conversations.

“I remember the quote from Jack Gibson, the legendary football rugby league coach, he used to tell his players that guys nothing ever good happens in a bar after midnight. I think that applies to politicians as well,” he told The Australian.

“They weren’t public statements. It all needs to be ... put in that context.”

Mr Kelly said a free vote would be a breach of an election promise, but it could be that Mr Pyne is in new negotiations with crossbenchers over a plebiscite.

“The words he used were the issue will be settled sooner than you think. Remember that also could be. That he’s in some type of discussion with the senate crossbench and remember we’ve been able to get a lot of legislation through the Senate crossbench that a lot of people said we’d never get through,” he said.

Abetz hits out at Pyne

Tasmanian backbench Senator Eric Abetz has pointedly rebuked Mr Pyne for suggesting he supported Mr Turnbull rather than Mr Abbott when he was prime minister.

“I simply encourage Cabinet Ministers to live up to the responsibilities that come with the privilege of being in Cabinet,” Mr Abetz said in a statement to The Australian.

Mr Abetz, who is not in favour of legalising same sex marriage, said he was pleased Mr Turnbull had confirmed a plebiscite was still the party’s policy.

“I’m pleased the Prime Minister has reaffirmed the Government’s clear position that we support marriage but will allow a plebiscite for people to have their say.”