Scullion hopes to retain Aboriginal portfolio

5
1055

Nigel Scullion 2
By ERWIN CHLANDA
 
Senator Nigel Scullion (pictured) will make no comment on last night’s change of Prime Minister until the new Liberal parliamentary wing leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has allocated the ministries.
 
This is likely to happen on the weekend.
 
A spokesman for Sen Scullion says he is hoping to remain the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, a position for which he “put up his hand,” as he had told the Alice Springs News Online previously.
 
Senator Scullion, a member of the Country Liberal Party in the NT, has chosen to sit with the Nationals in Federal Parliament, and as such he did not participate in last night’s leadership vote.
 
By contrast MHR for the Top End seat of Solomon, Natasha Griggs, is sitting with the Liberal Party and was in the party room for the spill vote.
 
She arrived there smiling broadly, walking alongside the now defeated Prime Minister Tony Abbott, at the head of a gaggle of some 25 supporters, just before the scheduled starting time of the vote.
 
p2276-Natasha-GriggsMs Griggs (pictured) told Territory FM’s Daryl Manzie this morning that she was pleased to be walking with Mr Abbott, describing herself as a “fierce supporter” of his.
 
“And he was a very big supporter of mine, ” she said, “loyalty is one of my core values.”
 
She had supported Mr Abbot in the spill earlier this year: “I don’t regret supporting him. Last night I was receiving hundreds of emails urging me to support Tony. I was very proud to walk alongside this man.”
 
However, Ms Griggs said Mr Turnbull “will also be afforded the same loyalty that a leader should expect to receive.
 
“I will be pushing Malcolm to have the same determination around north Australia as Prime Minister Abbott did,” she said, although she had not yet spoken to Mr Turnbull about the region.
 
Ms Griggs said she has an excellent relationship with Julie Bishop “and this will not change”.
 
Meanwhile Daniel Davis, the vice-president of the CLP, says the party has no way to control events in the Liberal Party or its parliamentary wing in the Federal Parliament.
 
“The reality is that we work with whomever is the leader,” says Mr Davis.
 
 
UPDATE 5:15pm by DANIELLE deBRENNI
 
p2154-Adam-GilesChief Minister Adam Giles (pictured) said this afternoon: “I’ll work with whoever is PM.
 
“I just want to ensure regional Australia like Alice Springs is square and centre of Canberra’s policy agenda, that we focus on jobs and growth, develop northern Australia and support indigenous advancement through economic development.
 
“I am looking forward to Malcolm coming to the Northern Territory.”
 
 
 

5 COMMENTS

  1. Sorry Erwin, Nige didn’t choose to sit anywhere. The convention within the CLP is they take turns of sitting with Coalition partners – when Nige’s number came up, he went to the Nats.
    When “Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost” Tash got in, she was replacing Dopey Dave, who sat with the Libs.
    The Nats signed the Coalition agreement today but I don’t know if that was a good thing for Nige – Barnaby managed to wrangle a ministry off the Libs (water resources) and it won’t surprise if they lose a Cabinet seat as a result. If they do, it won’t be Truss or Joyce.

  2. The Nats, a party formed by PM Billy Hughes in 1916 after he left Labor, who was then ousted by the Country Party’s Stanley Bruce, can co-govern with the Liberals in a “Coalition”, but can’t vote in the Party Room for the elected PM. Too weird.
    The removal of PM Abbott shows full ad hominem tactics at the expense of a “broken” political system. Nothing to skite about.

  3. Funny how Adam’s and Nigel’s responses are the same. They have been talking “a lot” together recently, after all ….

  4. Whoever gets what, might we now have a period of stable government?
    And crocodile tears notwithstanding, ex-PM Abbott’s parting remarks about a febrile and anonymous media culture is on the money.

  5. A motion of confidence in the candidate member is required within the House of Representatives for the member to be Prime Minister.
    When a confidence motion is presented in the House of Representatives all present members vote.
    If lacking support of majority of members, the Prime Minister is expected to resign.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_defeated_by_votes_of_no_confidence#Australia
    Wikipedia provides a list of Prime Ministers defeated by either a parliamentary motion of no confidence or a similar process their loss of supply.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here