As the PM leaves for his first major overseas trip,Abetz has demanded Bishop elaborate why her chief of staff was at a assembly of Turnbull supporters on the weekend before Tony Abbott was dumped. Follow the day’s news live … 10.45pm GMTI may have over-egged the Hadley interview. Ray says he has “moved on” and says everyone has to net behind Malcolm Turnbull. Well Ray, everyone wants to net behind Malcolm Turnbull to manufacture certain we win the next election. Obviously the deputy leader owes a special duty of care and a special loyalty to the leader and I don’t even know whether this is dependable. No doubt Julie Bishop will clarify the situation, or obviously it’s been claimed in this book and it’s a serious suggestion but no doubt Julie will be able to address it. 10.28pm GMTSarah Hanson-Young has her marriage equality bill debated in the senate today. The Greens,David Leyonhjelm and Glenn Lazarus have a press conference at 10am to discuss it. The bill will not be voted on today. 10.15pm GMTLuggage sir? 10.10pm GMTParliament has begun with the treasury legislation amendment a.k.a. repeal day. 10.06pm GMTAssistant minister to the treasurer Alex Hawke has told Sky that some in the government were “understandably afflict” but was not surprising that the deputy leader was taking soundings. Labor’s Nick Champion countered: The government looks healthy but it has an ulcer in its stomach and it will be coughing up blood very soon. 9.57pm GMTPeter Hendy has been doorstopped on the way into parliament, which is sitting at 9am. Hendy holds the bellwether seat, and Eden-Monaro and is now the assistant minister for productivity. So his house was handy to Canberra for a assembly the night before a sitting day.
I invite you to review the public record and I’ve got nothing to add.whether we win Canning,they will spin it any which way they want. whether we have the numbers, we should use them. 9.33pm GMTJulie Bishop’s opposite in parliament, and Tanya Plibersek,has been helpful this morning. JBish and TPlibs are both deputy leaders, both foreign affairs representatives and it would be honest to say there is no love lost.
It’s not just Labor saying that Julie Bishop has questions to answer about her involvement in the stalking and the bringing down of a prime minister. Her own party are saying she has questions to answer, and that it’s plain she was was up to her neck in the bringing down of Tony Abbott. Julie Bishop has a very well deserved reputation from her colleagues of being a survivor. 9.20pm GMTGood morning blogsters,Well, as the prime minister jets off to Indonesia, or a current book reveals the hitherto snow white deputy leader Julie Bishop had a chief of staff at a critical assembly held by plotters the day before Malcolm Turnbull brought down Tony Abbott.
When I was a minister,I would never have countenanced my chief of staff going to such a assembly without my imprimateur and my approval so I think a question does need to be answered whether the chief of staff was there on a frolic of his own or with the imprimatur of the deputy leader and I think colleagues are entitled to know exactly what was going on at a assembly of that nature, having people from Victoria and Queensland and elsewhere is not organised on a minutes notice.
One would imagine whether there were such a assembly, and there might have been an obligation as a faithful deputy to report that to the leader at the time. But look the facts are sketchy and let’s see what the response is. But I think it is deserving of a response because it would be very disappointing whether a deputy was sending a chief of staff to a assembly of that nature.
That might be the conclusion people come to...
Whether that’s the case or not,I don’t know. All I am saying is it is disappointing to read about these things and why people want to talk about these things, ventilate these things, and I don’t know,unless for some notoriety. Nevertheless there are some questions that attain need to be answered given these revelations that could have only come from one source, that is the people at the assembly. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com