The Coalition split and divisions within the Liberal Party are upsetting new members of parliament, Liberal senator Jane Hume has said, as she accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of having politically trapped the opposition through its antisemitism reforms.
“I have spoken to so many of my colleagues, both incidentally and purposefully, because there are a lot of people that are feeling really upset right now. We have some new members of parliament that have never been through this level of turmoil. Weren’t expecting this level of turmoil. They weren’t expecting to see a Coalition split, and they’re looking for solution and comfort,” Hume told journalists at Parliament House in Canberra.
“[Opposition Leader] Sussan Ley is leading our party. She needs to be able to, right now, present that alternative to the government. Anthony Albanese is getting away with murder on our watch, on our watch because we are talking about ourselves, because we’re divided.”
Hume said Albanese had intentionally “made the conversation all about the Coalition” when Labor proposed gun and hate crime reforms last month which led to Nationals senators voting against the Liberal Party, ultimately precipitating the most recent Coalition split.
“At the beginning of that last sitting week, we should have realised that that was what was being set up for us. We should have been able to say: ‘this is not about us. We are here for the Australian people. Let’s not fight between ourselves’. And unfortunately, we failed to do that,” Hume said.
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