Doctor Spaceman posted:

Looks like some MP has fallen afoul of *checks notes* section 44

https://twitter.com/rharris334/status/1057948707205726208

NTRabbit posted:

Can they keep supply when Dunkley goes Labor in a byelection?

NTRabbit posted:

Can they keep supply when Dunkley goes Labor in a byelection?

hidys posted:

Seat of Dunkley. A notionally Labor seat under the new boundaries.

RichardA posted:

I thought those kinds of by election are run under the old boundaries?

quote:

Dunkley MP Chris Crewther could be rubbed out by Section 44


EXCLUSIVE: The Morrison Government faces losing another MP and a nightmare by-election in its second most marginal seat in ­Victoria after a backbencher made an investment that could disqualify him from parliament.

Two weeks after the ­government lost its majority in the House of Representatives, it risks having ­Dunkley MP Chris ­Crewther rubbed out by the High Court under the ­notorious Section 44 of the Constitution, which has already seen 16 MPs booted since the 2016 election.

Chris Crewther, MP for Dunkley, which includes Frankston, Langwarrin and Mornington, is likely to face a vote in parliament to refer him to the High Court over shares he recently bought in local company Gretals Australia which specialises in developing highly innovative pharmaceuticals.
Labor has already signalled it plans to make a fresh attempt to refer Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the High Court over his pecuniary interest in a childcare centre.

Since the government lost its majority at the Wentworth by-election earlier this month, it no longer has the numbers in parliament to protect its MPs being referred to the court.

Mr Crewther’s investment in Gretals is at risk of falling foul of Section 44’s ban on MPs having a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth.

ASIC records updated this week show that Mr Crewther is one of 14 shareholders of Gretals Australia, which is currently the beneficiary of a linkage grant from the Commonwealth through the Australian Research Council with the University of Melbourne.

He holds the shares in common with his wife through their self-managed superfund.

The commercial benefits of the Commonwealth-funded research under that grant are shared between the University of Melbourne and Gretals Australia under the grant, which has another year to run.

The company has also received direct grants from the Commonwealth in recent years including $50,000 from the Global Connection Fund in 2017.

MPs can only have direct or indirect pecuniary interests in an agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth if they have them through “an incorporated company consisting of more than 25 persons”.

When contacted today, Mr Crewther said he was unaware of the constitution’s rule about the number of shareholders.

“I thought I would support the local economy,” he said.

He said he was also unaware of how many shareholders the company had.

If the High Court were to rule that Mr Crewther’s shareholding made him ineligible to sit in parliament, his seat would be declared vacant, reducing the government’s numbers to 74 members in the 149-seat House of Representatives.

The government’s chances of retaining Dunkley at a by-election would be bleak, with the most recent Newspoll showing Labor ahead 57 per cent to 43 per cent on two-party preferred basis.

At the 2016 election, Mr Crewther won the 51.43 per cent to 48.57 per cent.

If Mr Crewther and Mr Dutton were both to lose their seats, the government would be reduced to 73 MPs out of 148.

Faced with that prospect, the government could call an early election.

Jonah Galtberg posted:

lmao https://www.openaustralia.org.au/debates/?id=2017-10-23.181.1

Jonah Galtberg posted:

lmao https://www.openaustralia.org.au/debates/?id=2017-10-23.181.1

AgentF posted:

Yeah but Dutton fell afoul of s44 and is fine. Why would the government refer this new guy to the High Court?

hambeet posted:

Isn't this all wishful thinking? Would Phelps really vote herself straight into another election as oppose to going 'i am here for stability and to get done what I said I would and this is just a distraction blah blah'?

NTRabbit posted:

Can they keep supply when Dunkley goes Labor in a byelection?

Don Dongington posted:

The alternative is to prop up an illegal government, do you think that's much better?

quote:

Ms Hanson on Thursday night accused asylum seekers of a deliberate strategy to beat the system after the government commissioned public servants to collate the number of asylum seeker babies born on Nauru.

“Why would you bring more children into the world?,” she told Sky News.

“It’s because they know that they will use the children as pawns to get what they want.”

On Monday The New Daily reported one government source had complained: “If it’s such a hellhole, why procreate?”

The Morrison government subsequently asked the department to collate statistics on the number of births to asylum seekers since their arrival on Nauru.

Yesterday, The Australian revealed the findings, that “there are now only 40 children of asylum-seekers living on the island, and that 46 infants have been born to asylum seekers sent to Nauru since the former Labor government reopened the pro­cess­ing centre there in 2012″.

Refugee lawyer George Newhouse said last night the new debate about refugees was “disgusting” given some children were the result of rapes.

“It’s obscene. Sending bureaucrats to count the number of babies,” he told The New Daily.

“Some of these women are pregnant from rape. And I know there are babies born from rape. Are they also going to release the statistics on the number of terminations from women who couldn’t bear to give birth on that island?

“Part of the horror of that island is the sexual assault.

“How disgusting. The government argues the refugees are free and not prisoners are they now suggesting not allowed to have children?”

quote:

The risk, however, is that Mr Turnbull may also use the Q&A session to apply the blowtorch to the Morrison camp that exploited his downfall. Having already sniped and undermined the ‘new’ government, Mr Turnbull must resist the urge to completely wreck it.

If he doesn’t step away from the microphone, and instead insists on retribution, voters will relegate Mr Turnbull to the wrecker’s bin along with Mr Abbott and Mr Rudd.

quote:

On Monday The New Daily reported one government source had complained: “If it’s such a hellhole, why procreate?”

ewe2 posted: