ABC Radio National

SUBJECTS: Peter Slipper scandal E&OE……… Fran Kelly: Christopher Pyne, good morning. Christopher Pyne: Good morning Fran. Kelly: Anthony Albanese was pretty clear there.  In the Government’s view Peter Slipper is free to resume the Speaker’s chair if he’s cleared of the criminal charges involving Cabcharge fraud.  Do you agree with that? Pyne: Well, Fran, I think Anthony Albanese is sounding increasingly erratic and also rewriting history.  I think most people remember I nominated a dozen Labor members to take the Speaker’s chair last November.  All of them under instructions from their caucus refused to do so.  At the time members of the caucus were concerned that Peter Slipper was being placed into the chair over an honourable and fair and decent Speaker in Harry Jenkins – and the concerns they raised then and the chickens as they say are coming home to roost. Kelly: Just on this question though, Peter Slipper being free to resume the position of Speaker if he’s cleared of the criminal charges he faces even if there are civil charges hanging over him.  What is your view on that? Pyne: Fran, our view is that the civil case involving sexual harassment is a very serious matter, a very serious allegation.  If it was good enough for Commodore Kafer to stand down as head of the Australian Defence Force Academy when he didn’t even have sexual harassment claims made against him, but in fact officers in the Australian Defence Force Academy; if it was good enough for him to stand down until all those matters were resolved to use the words of Stephen Smith to “protect the institution of the Defence Force Academy” surely the parliament is as an important institution to protect it’s reputation. The Speaker is the head of the House of Representatives.  I would have thought that that position would be beyond reproach and for that reason the Opposition doesn’t believe that the Opposition should resume the Chair until he’s been cleared of all the matters that have been raised, both civil and criminal. Kelly: Even though as Anthony Albanese made the point on a number of times civil action can be taken out by anyone against anyone at any time, therefore it’s a dangerous precedent to stand someone down every time someone takes civil action against them. Pyne: Well, there are civil actions and civil actions Fran.  Let’s face it.  Some cases involve 20 or 30 directors all being sued by the one unhappy client simply because they happen to be a director of a law firm or an accountancy firm or an investment banking firm.  It’s very different from an individual case being taken here by a former staffer of Peter Slipper over sexual harassment allegations and I would have thought it was in the best interests of Peter Slipper, his family and the Parliament for all those matters to be resolved before he resumes the chair. Kelly: Peter Slipper has done the right thing by standing aside.  Now he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence though isn’t he? Pyne: Of course he is.  Absolutely, and for his own benefit and for the benefit of his family and for the benefit of the Parliament the best thing Peter Slipper could do is stand where he is as absent from the Parliament until all these matters are resolved and we all hope that he will be cleared of them. Kelly: The Government’s majority has effectively been pared back to just one again.  Is the Opposition planning to test these numbers on the floor of the house by moving a motion of no-confidence against the Gillard Government? Pyne: We won’t be flagging our tactics, especially two an a half weeks before Parliament resumes, Fran. Kelly: Has the Coalition spoken to any independents about this? Pyne: Well, certainly I haven’t.  I don’t know of anyone that has, but I think the more important issue here is the integrity of the Government and the judgement of the Prime Minister and the moral compass of the Government.  It was only on Saturday and Sunday that Anthony Albanese and Wayne Swan were saying there was no need for Peter Slipper to stand down at all.  Now that he has stood down, the Prime Minister has come out and welcomed it.  Quite frankly one hand doesn’t know what the other one is doing in this Government.  This very much goes to their integrity and the judgement of the Prime Minister. Kelly: If this goes to the integrity and the judgment of the Prime Minister doesn’t it equally go the integrity and the judgement of the Coalition because Peter Slipper is not a product of the Labor Party, he’s a product of the Coalition?  He’s been a Liberal member of parliament since 1993 until last November; 18 years when he quit to become speaker.  What does that say about the integrity and judgement of your party? Pyne: Well Fran, the Opposition didn’t despatch Harry Jenkins as Speaker and put Peter Slipper into the role. Kelly: Yes, but it did endorse Peter Slipper as an MP nine times. Pyne: It certainly didn’t make him the most important figure in the House of Representatives.  That was a decision uniquely made by the Labor Party last November when they asked Harry Jenkins to go and they forced Peter Slipper into the job in a squalid and tawdry deal designed to shore up their numbers on the floor of the house because Julia Gillard wanted to renege on her deal with Andrew Wilkie for pokies reform and didn’t want to rely on the tainted vote of Craig Thomson.  She now relies on that vote again. Kelly: As the Coalition relied on Peter Slipper being amongst their numbers and for instance the documents filed in the Federal Court now on this civil action we’ve been speaking about, some of them involve John Howard’s former staffer Tony Nutt saying he was advised of allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Peter Slipper back in 2003 and according to these documents advised the staff member to “forget all about it”. Pyne: Well Fran, this is the first time an action has been taken in a court against Peter Slipper by anyone…. Kelly: Yes, but it’s not the first time these sorts of allegations have been raised is my point.  We now they have been raised within the office of a Liberal Prime Minister. Pyne: There was no complaint made against Peter Slipper by any former staffer or current staffer during the Howard era.  None, no complaint.  This is the first time a staffer has made a complaint about sexual harassment by Peter Slipper in the courts, so it’s an entirely different matter.  If the staffer concerned during the Howard era had wanted to make a complaint then they would have done so.  They didn’t choose to do so. Kelly: No, that’s true, but it’s difficult for the Coalition that backing Peter Slipper into the Speakership is just bad judgement on their part when the Coalition happily had him among their numbers for years.  For instance today we’re reading in the newspapers further examples of this MP claiming allowances he wasn’t entitled to – that’s the allegation – mainly occurring when Peter Slipper was a member of the Coalition.  Why has this behaviour been tolerated by the Coalition? Pyne: Fran, in the court of public opinion Peter Slipper has been very much embraced by Julia Gillard to make him her Speaker.  Peter Slipper is Julia Gillard’s Speaker in the same way that Craig Thomson is Julia Gillard’s Member for Dobell and sits in her caucus.  The matters that are being investigated at the moment by the Federal Police and are being complained about in court by his former staffer have all occurred since Julia Gillard embraced him as Speaker and dispatched Harry Jenkins in his favour last year. Kelly: So, just finally, your allegations of poor judgement and lack of integrity against the Government; you’re not clear yet whether that’s enough for the Opposition to move a motion of no-confidence in the Government or in the Prime Minister? Pyne: The people who should move a motion of no-confidence in the Government are the cross benchers, Fran.  We’ve already lost confidence in this Government.  The Abbott led Coalition has made if perfectly clear for four and a half years, particularly since Kevin Rudd was dispatched two years ago that we don’t have any confidence in this Government.  It won’t come as any surprise to the public that we don’t believe that the Government deserves to be on the Government benches.  The best thing the Government could do is call an election and let one party get a mandate on the floor of the House of Representatives so we can get certain and clear government again in this country.  That’s what the public deserve. Kelly: Christopher Pyne, thank you very much for joining us. Pyne: Pleasure. ENDS