1 week ago
3
As Ferris Bueller famously once said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Brad Battin on Tuesday became the first major party leader to have an enforced day off since Daniel Andrews back in September 2013.
Wise to smell the roses, given the precarious employment status of Victorian Liberal Party leaders.
Battin had been interjecting through question time – like most MPs through most question times. His emotions were redlining as he heckled Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny about victims of crime.
He had been warned by Speaker Maree Edwards that he was not immune from being removed from the chamber if he continued.
Battin didn’t stop, even when the Speaker stood up. This is parliamentary code for: be quiet, or you are in big trouble.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin yells at the Speaker.Credit: Justin McManus
Speakers generally try to avoid kicking out leaders for fear of fuelling accusations of partisanship, or giving them content for their press releases. Battin was booted from the chamber eight times last year before becoming opposition leader in a Christmas coup.
But this time, Edwards ejected him for an hour and quickly upped that to 90 minutes. That’s when he berated her with a pointed finger.
“You want to silence the opposition!” he declared.
At this point, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll moved a motion to suspend Battin from parliament for the remainder of the day, which passed easily with Labor’s numbers, along with the Greens and ex-Labor-MP-turned-crossbencher Will Fowles.
“Shame!” Liberal MPs cried.
Battin marched out of the lower house chamber with almost all Coalition MPs following in solidarity. He will lose a day of pay but probably gain several more Instagram follows.
The leader of the opposition stood in the party room moments later, like Bueller, twisting and shouting at his own parade. He was surrounded by Coalition colleagues, with a royal blue Liberal Party banner as their backdrop.
“Jacinta Allan has no answers when it comes to the crime crisis, so much so they will do anything to silence the opposition here in the Victorian parliament,” he told reporters (and the cameras) afterwards. “Let me assure Victoria, I will never be silenced when I come into the Victorian parliament to stand up for victims.”
Loading
Minutes later, he filmed his own piece to camera, with a microphone fixed to his tie. “It’s about time the Allan Labor government came out with the answers to the crime crisis, not how to shut down democracy.”
The walk-out meant there were no more questions about crime. It derailed any effort to hold the government to account in parliament, or to speak on behalf of worried families.
Nor was there an audience on the opposition benches to listen to government ministers talking about the state’s historic treaty bill.
Back when Daniel Andrews was suspended from parliament, he was opposition leader. A year later, he took the 2014 election in a boilover result.
Battin made the most of his day off. If he hopes to emulate Andrews, though, he’ll need to get back to work.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in Politics
Loading
