Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has labeled Anthony Albanese a “hypocrite” after a “disrespectful” gesture from the Prime Minister in Parliament.
The members had gathered for Question Time on Thursday afternoon when the Labor leader briefly “shooed away” Ms Ley during a heated exchange.
The move caused uproar in the room and the Opposition then repeatedly demanded Mr Albanese to “withdraw” the “disrespectful” action.
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Ms Ley was questioned by Sky News Australia host Pete Stefanovic on Friday about what happened where she unleased on the Prime Minister.
“Yes, look, shooing motion across the table in the parliament, I can take the rough and tumble, every woman in this place knows how to do that,” she said.
“What I can’t accept is the hypocrisy.
“Anthony Albanese said it was going to be a family friendly parliament, there were going to be new notes of respect and this sort of sit down and shut up motion across the table to a woman who is speaking as she is entitled to in the Parliament , simply breaks all of his own rules.
Stefanovic then posed whether being “shooed was that bad”.
“Do you see it at any modern workplace? Do you see it in a boardroom?” Ms Ley argued, before the First Edition host agreed he would never make such a move.
Earlier, the Deputy Liberal leader was posed whether the passing of the Climate Change Bill in the House of Representatives will force their own party to change its targets.
The legislation – which aims to enshrine its 2030 and 2050 emissions targets – passed on Thursday in the Lower House 89 to 55 votes.
Ms Ley argued the Albanese Government had to focus on other issues that are currently affecting Australians who were struggling with inflation.
“Just remember, this was legislation that the government’s own energy minister said it did not need, spent half a day toing and froing in Parliament when the real issue this week is the rising cost of living and the government’s $275 of broken promises on power bills,” she said.
“That was the figure by which they said your power bill would go down. So, there was some grandstanding, sure, there was legislation that everyone agreed, including the government, wasn’t even necessary, and there was a deal with the Greens .”
Stefanovic then pushed again on how much the Coalition would lift its emissions targets after Australians resoundingly showed at the polls they wanted to see more climate action with nine teal independents voted in.
Ms Ley insisted there would be ongoing discussions about climate change and net zero, which the party has committed to before the election, but their first focus was on providing cost-of-living relief to households.
“We’ll be tuning in very carefully to the international situation because that’s what matters to Australians – how we keep their power prices affordable, how we don’t have manufactures that go offshore,” she said.
“How we actually, as the prime minister has often said, keep a strong manufacturing industry where Australia makes (its own) things.
“It won’t be if the energy prices continue to escalate, so right now, that’s our focus, not on legislation that the government admits itself was not actually needed, that is not what the Parliament is for.”
She added the Albanese Government are “off the training wheels” but they have not advocated for “real policies” to help struggling families and small businesses.
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