A defiant Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has held a 7pm press conference to say that he won’t be held to ransom by Geoff Shaw.
Napthine said the ball was now in Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews’s court. “He has said he will never accept the tainted vote of Mr. Shaw,” Napthine said. “We will continue to govern.” [Read more…]
The Victorian Governor, Alex Chernov, has today met with the Opposition Leader, Daniel Andrews, whilst the maverick Liberal MP, Geoff Shaw, has said he will support a no-confidence motion against the Napthine government.
The meeting was reported on Channel 7 at 6pm. Reporter Brendan Donohue said the meeting was to discuss the “instability” in parliament. It is not known if Chernov sought Premier Denis Napthine’s permission to consult with the Opposition Leader. In the constitutional crisis of 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam gave the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, permission to consult with the Opposition Leader, Malcolm Fraser. [Read more…]
The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Ken Smith, has resigned and Liberal MP Christine Fyffe has been elected unopposed as the new Speaker.
Smith’s resignation came in a belligerent speech at the beginning of the new parliamentary year at 2pm today. Smith attacked Frankston MP Geoff Shaw, accusing him of “outrageous demands” and describing him as “unworthy” of being a member of parliament. [Read more…]
The Victorian Premier, Denis Napthine, has released a video statement in which he says he will not introduce or support abortion legislation to restrict a woman’s right to choose.
The statement comes after today’s decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop all criminal charges against Frankston MLA Geoff Shaw over alleged rorting of his travel entitlements.
The DPP’s decision ensures that the government will not face a risky by-election which would have ensued if Shaw had been convicted. The government has a one-seat majority in the Legislative Assembly and relies on Shaw’s vote. Elected as a Liberal, Shaw now sits as an independent after he resigned from the parliamentary party earlier this year and precipitated the resignation of former premier Ted Baillieu.
Shaw is engaged in a battle with the Assembly Speaker, Ken Smith, who last week protected the government’s position by expelling two Labor members and thereby guaranteeing the government’s survival until the new year. Smith’s survival as Speaker beyond January will be keenly watched in 2014.
There has been speculation that Shaw wants legislation to undo or restrict the decriminalisation of abortion that was passed on a conscience vote five years ago. At the time, Napthine opposed the legislation whilst Baillieu supported it.
With next year’s election now less than a year away, Napthine appears keen to take the abortion issue off the political agenda.