Post by garfield on Oct 16, 2012 18:48:09 GMT 10
;D ;D ;D
THE latest allegations of parliamentary sleaze - involving suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson - have the potential to further undermine public confidence in the Gillard government.
And they may also destabilise Labor's already precarious grip on power, with the Coalition expected to use the prospect of a messy court hearing to pressure Prime Minister Julia Gillard to call an early election.
Senior government spin doctors last night insisted Mr Thomson's vote would still be accepted on key reforms and procedural votes. But it remains to be seen how other key crossbench MPs - particularly Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor - react to the latest allegations raised by Fair Work Australia against the one-time Labor wunderkind.
Mr Thomson - who last night was maintaining his innocence - is facing a lengthy court battle against Fair Work Australia, which has already engaged high-end firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth to produce a 193-page statement of claim, filed in the Federal Court yesterday.
Labor said it will no longer pay his legal bills so the embattled backbencher will have to fund his court defence, likely to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If he is forced into bankruptcy, he would be required to stand down as the member for Dobell, with the Liberal Party favoured to win his seat in a by-election.
That would be enough to give Tony Abbott a slight edge in numbers in the house of representatives, provided he secured the vote of ex-Speaker and Liberal turncoat Peter Slipper (not guaranteed), Mr Wilkie, maverick Bob Katter and "independent" Nationals MP Tony Crook.
The more likely scenario though is that Ms Gillard and her battered government will continue to soldier on.
THE latest allegations of parliamentary sleaze - involving suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson - have the potential to further undermine public confidence in the Gillard government.
And they may also destabilise Labor's already precarious grip on power, with the Coalition expected to use the prospect of a messy court hearing to pressure Prime Minister Julia Gillard to call an early election.
Senior government spin doctors last night insisted Mr Thomson's vote would still be accepted on key reforms and procedural votes. But it remains to be seen how other key crossbench MPs - particularly Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor - react to the latest allegations raised by Fair Work Australia against the one-time Labor wunderkind.
Mr Thomson - who last night was maintaining his innocence - is facing a lengthy court battle against Fair Work Australia, which has already engaged high-end firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth to produce a 193-page statement of claim, filed in the Federal Court yesterday.
Labor said it will no longer pay his legal bills so the embattled backbencher will have to fund his court defence, likely to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If he is forced into bankruptcy, he would be required to stand down as the member for Dobell, with the Liberal Party favoured to win his seat in a by-election.
That would be enough to give Tony Abbott a slight edge in numbers in the house of representatives, provided he secured the vote of ex-Speaker and Liberal turncoat Peter Slipper (not guaranteed), Mr Wilkie, maverick Bob Katter and "independent" Nationals MP Tony Crook.
The more likely scenario though is that Ms Gillard and her battered government will continue to soldier on.
