One more slip-up for PM

THE deal to make Slipper Speaker gave Labor one extra vote. Was it worth it?

Peter Slipper

ON November 24 last year, the day Peter Slipper resigned from the Liberal National Party to become an independent Speaker supported by the government, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told the ABC's 7:30: "He's not my man. He's the Prime Minister's man now . . . she's the one who has to defend him . . . let's wait and see how this all unfolds."

The following day this page examined the implications of Slipper's promotion under the heading: "A house of ill repute?" Perhaps the headline would have been better saved for today.

Less than five months later and Slippery Pete, as he is disparagingly referred to due to the many controversies he has survived throughout his political career, has stepped down as Speaker following serious allegations of misconduct including sexual harassment. Slipper strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie during the weekend called for Slipper to resign or be removed by the government. He also told The Australian yesterday that how Labor responded to this matter would be "a test of the government's character as much as Peter Slipper's".

Slipper, at least, passed Wilkie's test. While noting that he continues to deny the allegations, shortly after 3pm yesterday Slipper released a statement announcing that he would be stepping down as Speaker. "The allegations include both a claim of criminal behaviour and a claim under civil law," Slipper said. "As such, I believe it is appropriate for me to stand aside as Speaker while this criminal allegation is resolved . . . I would appreciate the relevant bodies dealing with the matter expeditiously."

Slipper's statement came after he returned from a parliamentary delegation to Europe.

The departure of Slipper was a free kick for Abbott, who fronted the media for a second time yesterday after Slipper's statement was released: "The Prime Minister forced Harry Jenkins to leave the speakership so that Mr Slipper could assume the speakership in a squalid and tawdry attempt to shore up her numbers, a squalid and tawdry deal which has now ended in tears."

Slipper's intention is to resume the speakership if cleared of wrongdoing, but it remains to be seen if the government would support such a reinstatement, given Slipper's propensity to cause embarrassment. Before Slipper stepped down a line-up of senior ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, repeatedly avoided calling for the former speaker to do so.

Manager of government business in the House of Representatives Anthony Albanese answered a question at a press conference on Saturday about whether Slipper should resign by saying: "Those issues are a matter for Mr Slipper. There are legal proceedings under way. That's what the newspaper reports indicate this morning. On that basis, it's important that we recognise the separation between the judicial arm and the political arm of the state." Perhaps appropriately, the minister was at a construction site wearing a hard hat.

From Washington Wayne Swan echoed Albanese's words, telling ABC TV's Insiders: "I think it's important to keep this in perspective. They're just allegations in legal proceedings, serious allegations, but they should be allowed to run their normal course." Pressed on whether he thought Slipper should step down the Treasurer said: "That would be a matter for Peter Slipper. But I've been in parliament a long time, I've seen allegations come and go. These are allegations that are now in legal proceedings. I think we should respect those legal proceedings, we should respect the processes."

The comments left observers wondering if self-interest was the government's prime motivator in considering what was the appropriate reaction to the serious allegations being levelled at Slipper.

Having lost Wilkie's support courtesy of Julia Gillard reneging on her agreement over poker machine reforms, and because of the uncertainty surrounding embattled MP Craig Thomson's future over breaches at the Health Services Union, the Labor government can ill afford to lose votes in the parliament.

"No one would suggest that Slipper has high standards," opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says. "But by doing the right thing and stepping down we at least now know that they are higher than a whole series of Labor ministers."

Finally, after 5pm yesterday the Prime Minister issued a press release: "It is appropriate that Mr Slipper has stood aside as Speaker while alleged criminal conduct is investigated. It is also appropriate for all parties to note the processes under way and treat them with respect." That was it, no media conference, no interviews, no explanation.

Did the PM ask Slipper to step down? Has the government canvassed any of the other cross-bench members to take over the job? Would the PM support Slipper returning after being cleared of wrongdoing? The Prime Minister was in the bunker, letting her two-sentence statement do the talking.

Labor's Deputy Speaker, Anna Burke, will fill in for Slipper until the allegations are resolved. But if, for example, in the longer term Slipper moves to the cross benches permanently and is replaced by Rob Oakeshott as Speaker -- who has previously expressed an interest in the position -- the one-for-one swap would maintain the minority government's control of the parliament. So long as Slipper supported confidence motions in the government as Oakeshott has.

But if not, and Burke moves into the chair permanently, Labor would be back to where it started before Slipper defected from the LNP. And only after it has been tainted by the stain of supporting a controversial conservative MP who had previously only caused problems for the other side of the parliament. Was it worth it?

"Something like this was always going to happen," a senior member of the Labor Right opines to The Australian. "(Gillard) never should have supported (Slipper) in the first place. It was yet another error of judgment." This latest controversy again has the potential to stoke internal questioning of the Prime Minister's judgment. Including allowing ministers out to defend (implicitly or otherwise) Slipper's right to occupy the speakership despite the new allegations surfacing. And doing so before even knowing what Slipper's reaction on returning to Australia might be.

Last year on the day Slipper became Speaker, Labor MPs congratulated themselves for the "masterstroke" that had been orchestrated, giving the government a two-vote buffer in the event Thomson were charged, or if Wilkie withdrew support from the government over poker machine reforms not mirroring his agreement with Gillard.

The latter already has happened and the former still might.

On the day Slipper was appointed to the speakership, Albanese told this page: "This is a problem for the 'noalition' of their own making. When they reneged on the parliamentary reform agreement to pair the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker they thought it would cost us a vote, but it's ended up costing them a vote." It turns out that the deal to install Slipper in the speakership may have cost the government something much more important: credibility.

Labor MPs in marginal seats will be watching the next instalment of Newspoll with great (self)-interest.

Significantly, the allegations against Slipper pertain to events since his appointment as Speaker, not from when he served as an LNP MP. This ensures Labor and not the Coalition will wear the residual damage. The expectation after Slipper's elevation was that might open the door to revenge leaks about his time in conservative ranks. But such revelations would have carried less weight than the allegations being aired now.

The Prime Minister supported the elevation of Slipper to the highest office in the parliament despite full knowledge of his controversial background. From high-spending travel entitlements to party defections between the Nationals and the Liberals to finding himself locked in a disabled toilet calling for assistance because he thought the sliding door only had push and pull functionality, Slipper has hardly been a model MP.

Labor MP Michael Danby, nonetheless, moved the motion to install Slipper as Speaker last November, citing his significant parliamentary experience, including as Deputy Speaker to Harry Jenkins during the present parliamentary term.

Despite his controversial past Slipper has been a good Speaker in his short time in the job. His zero tolerance approach to question time, in which he has been prepared to throw MPs out of the chamber without warning, helped elevate the tone of proceedings.

"He'll still get his portrait on the wall (in Parliament House)", one Liberal MP opined to The Australian yesterday. "That (seemed to be) what was always important to him," he added.

Claims and counter claims of hypocrisy swirled about on the weekend as comment was sought from MPs of all political stripes. Some government MPs defended Slipper's right to remain Speaker until such time as wrongdoing might be proven. The opposition argued he should go to the backbench until he is cleared. Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Eric Abetz went further, suggesting on Sky News's Australian Agenda program that Slipper should be forced out of parliament altogether.

Former Speaker during Paul Keating's prime ministership, Stephen Martin, told The Australian that the PM could not simply remove Slipper as Abbott was calling for because "procedurally it is for the House of Representatives to remove the Speaker, not the Prime Minister. The elected members of the house appoint the speaker, not the PM."

Wilkie rejected Martin's analysis as hair-splitting: "The suggestion that this is a matter for the parliament rather than the government is patently nonsense because the government and it's allied cross-benchers have the numbers to do what they want, including to replace Speakers." In the end, Slipper took action before others could do so.

Like Slipper, Thomson chose to step down as chair of the House of Representatives' economics committee while investigations continued. He did so because he didn't want to be a "distraction".

But doing so has hardly lowered the temperature of attacks against Thomson. It will be interesting to see if the same applies to Slipper now that he sits on the cross benches. From the opposition's perspective, that may depend on how he votes.

The next sitting weeks carry added importance for the government because they will follow delivery of the Treasurer's budget on May 8. If Labor is to build momentum before the second half of this year it can ill afford distractions.

The breaking news on Saturday of serious allegations against Slipper took away from largely positive reporting of the government's aged-care package, released on Friday. It seems as if every time Labor starts to build momentum something happens that swiftly halts it. This time it was allegations against a former long-serving member of the conservative side of politics to whom Labor had turned for help.