Sky News Agenda

SUBJECTS: Peter Slipper scandal E&OE………… Kieran Gilbert: From Adelaide, Manager of Opposition , Christopher Pyne, Mr Pyne thanks for your time. Once the criminal alligations have been investigated, if Peter Slipper is cleared, doesn’t he then have the right to resume his role as Speaker of the Parliament? Christopher Pyne: Well the Opposition’s position on this Kieran is pretty clear and that is, what was good for Commodore Kafer as head of the Australian Defence Force Academy, is just as good for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In that case Stephen Smith stood Commodore Kafer down over sexual harassment allegations that didn’t even concern him, that concerned officers at ADFR on the basis that those matters needed to be resolved because ADFR was too important an institution to have a cloud hanging over it. Well, my view is that the Parliament is as important, if not more so, an institution than ADFR and for those reasons it’s in Peter Slipper’s interests, its in the interests of his family and in the interests of the Parliament that those matters all be resolved before he resumes the Chair in the House of Representatives. Gilbert: Anthony Albanese this morning makes the point that these are civil allegations, can be made by anyone at any time and this would be setting a dangerous precedent if the office holder had to stand aside on the basis of the civil rather than criminal case here. Pyne: Well look Kieran there are different degrees of civil actions, I mean there are actions which involve unhappy clients suing the thirty partners of a law firm or the thirty directors of an accountancy firm and this however is a particular allegation made by a former staffer of sexual harassment against the speaker during the period that Peter Slipper has been the Speaker. It’s a very serious allegation and it also happens at the same time that criminal investigations into Mr Slippers use of parliamentary entitlements. Now no one should want, nobody should want, not even the Labor Party should want the instability and uncertainty of having a cloud hanging over the Speaker presiding over the parliament. All the Opposition is asking for is for the Government to recognise that we need certainty, we need stability in the Parliament, in the government and ensuring that the stain that exists over this Government, whether it’s Craig Thomson or whether its support for the Speaker, in preference to Harry Jenkins, is cleared up.    Gilbert: So if Peter Slipper is returned and these criminal allegations are cleared, it’s fair to assume that you and the Opposition will move a no-confidence motion in him? Pyne: Well look Kieran we wouldn’t be telegraphing our tactics two and a half weeks before the parliament resumes. What I am saying though is that it is in Peter Slipper’s interests, in the interests of his family and in the interests of the Parliament for these matters to be resolved clearly before he resumes the Parliament, the Speakership of the parliament. It goes very much to Julia Gillard’s judgement that she would have dispatched Harry Jenkins as Speaker last November in preference to Peter Slipper to suborn a member of the Coalition into taking the Speakership, simply a squalid move to shore up her government so that she didn’t have to rely on Andrew Wilkie because she knew she was going to renege on her deal with him over pokies reforms. Now we’re back in the awful position, where the government relies on the tainted vote of Craig Thomson to remain in office. All of this could be cleared up by an election, which gives the Australian people the opportunity to give one party a mandate on the floor of the House of Representatives to restore stable government. Gilbert: Will you be seeking to speak to the Independentswho are now even more crucial than ever, particularly when it comes to any perspective no confidence motion, certainly in terms of budget measures. Pyne: Well Kieran, of course I will be speaking to the Independents at the appropriate time, but now isn’t the appropriate time, the parliament hasn’t resumed, I haven’t had any discussions with the Independents nor do I know any one else who has. What’s important here is that the Government finds its moral compass again and recognises that it’s not good enough, the Australian people deserve better than the Government relying on the tainted vote of Craig Thomson and the cloud hanging over the Speaker, Peter Slipper, to remain in office. Gilbert: But on the moral compass, this MP was endorsed nine times by the Coalition to represent the Coalition in the parliament, he was the Parliamentary Secretary for a time to the former Prime Minister John Howard as well, so he was able to be protected for a long, long time by the Coalition. Pyne: Well Kieran, we didn’t make Peter Slipper Speaker of the House of Representatives, we didn’t dispatch Harry Jenkins in a midnight coup in order to put Peter Slipper in as Speaker of the Parliament, that was a unique decision made by the Australian Labor Party and at the time a lot of members of the Labor Caucus felt that they were making a very grave judgement error, but of course, the Prime Minister’s only focus, her only ambition is to remain in office and nothing else matters and unfortunately she has now called the Parliament into disrepute because she dispatched an honourable and fair speaker, Harry Jenkins who’d never done anything wrong, in order to put in a member of the Coalition who was prepared to sell the past to the Labor Party in order for them to have an extra vote on the floor of the House Gilbert: In the court documents though, in this case against Peter Slipper, its clear there had been concerns raised with the former Prime Minister and Mr Howard’s office  when the Coalition was still in government. Just on that specific issue, why was he protected for so long? Pyne: Well he didn’t remain as a Parliamentary Secretary after that matter, more importantly this has been the first time any complaint has been made to the courts about Peter Slipper. Any former staffer that had wanted to take an action against Peter Slipper could have done so but none did. So this is the first time that Peter Slipper has faced a court action over sexual harassment claims. Gilbert: Christopher Pyne thanks very much for that. Appreciate your time this morning Pyne: Pleasure. ENDS