It had all the elements of children's' theatre: A hero, a villain and a good deal of pantomime.
Liberal MP Craig Kelly, castigated by medical experts, described as a "menace" by the opposition and apparently dressed down by the Prime Minister, played the part of the villain.
Labor's Tanya Plibersek, who backs the advice of the Prime Minister and medical experts on the most serious health challenge in a century, was cast as the heroine (at least in the eyes of Labor's rank and file, many of whom see her as the next Labor leader).
It all took place on a stage of sorts, in this case the corridors of Parliament's press gallery.
Having just finished an interview on breakfast TV, Ms Plibersek stepped out of the Sky News office directly up to the microphone that had been set up for other media cameras camped out in the corridor.
She soon let rip about the "conspiracy theories" espoused by Craig Kelly, who has endorsed the use of unproven drugs to treat coronavirus while urging caution about the vaccines being approved as safe and effective by medical authorities around the world.
As she spoke, a rolling kerfuffle started barrelling toward her from behind.
Emerging from the flash of camera bulbs, strode the "nong" in question.
"He needs to shut up. And if the Prime Minister had any spine he would tell him to do so," insisted Ms Plibersek, apparently unaware of what was going on behind her.
As several members of the press gallery pointed to what was about to happen, they may as well have been shouting "He's behind you! He's behind you!".
Sensing a "made for TV" moment, Mr Kelly marched straight past the Channel Nine office, where he was due to conduct his own breakfast TV interview, to confront his accuser.
"You making any big announcements?" he asked with a wry smile.
"I'm actually telling them that the PM needs to stop you spreading these crazy conspiracy theories," she replied.
And it was on.
For a full three minutes they went at it.
Mr Kelly's finger wagging was met with a calm, disdainful smile from the Shadow Minister for Women and Education.
"My mum lives in your electorate" she said.
"I don't want her to be exposed to people who are not going to be vaccinated because of these crazy conspiracy theories."
"You're the one spreading misinformation," Mr Kelly replied.
"You and the people in the Labor party spreading smear and slime and innuendo. It has to stop."
"I agree with your Prime Minister and your Health Minister. Do you agree with your Prime Minister and your Health Minister?" she asked.
"Of course I agree with my Prime Minister," came the reply.
"Should people get vaccinated?" she pressed.
"Of course! Everyone should go to their doctor," he replied.
"Should young children wear masks?"
"Young children, Tanya should not wear masks."
Ms Plibersek threw up her arms in disgust, and so it went on.
The interaction ended with a final grenade from the Labor frontbencher.
"I take my health advice from your Health Minister and your Chief Medical Officer. I wish you would."
And with that, the political horns unlocked, and they went their separate ways.
Attempts to neutralise Kelly fall short
For Ms Plibersek, it was a perfect moment.
For days, the Opposition has been ramping up its criticism of Mr Kelly, trying to pin responsibility for his taxpayer-funded espousals directly to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The Prime Minister tried resisting, dismissing such a notion at the Press Club on Monday with the assertion that "Craig Kelly's not my doctor".
A question to Mr Morrison during Question Time yesterday on the topic was ruled out of order.
But by yesterday afternoon, sensing the matter was getting a head of steam, the Prime Minister picked up the phone to the rogue MP. Importantly, the press was briefed about it.
What was said isn't known and even the timing of the call was the subject of some dispute.
But the Prime Minister was clearly trying to neutralise the matter.
In that sense, it hasn't been a particularly good day for Labor Leader Anthony Albanese.
What to do with the Member for Hughes?
But Mr Kelly has also got exactly what he wanted.
By doubling down against the Prime Minister's wishes, in the most public way possible, he's got the attention he craves.
He may be facing trouble in his upcoming pre-selection challenge and a little extra name recognition can be useful at election time.
The Liberal backbencher has made a career out of going against the will of his party and the scientific consensus, whether on climate change, energy policy or coronavirus.
In that sense, it's bad day for Mr Morrison.
Today the Prime Minister was forced to summon his MP to his office for what senior Government sources say was a more formal dressing down.
Mr Morrison apparently asked him to refrain from pushing views that are contrary to accepted medical advice.
The ABC understands Mr Kelly agreed to restrain his social media and support the Government's strategy.
But the question of "what to do with the Member for Hughes" will dog Mr Morrison yet.
Ulterior motives in a corridor clash
The House of Representative and Senate chambers are the designated spaces for our national leaders to debate the ideas and policies that affect Australians.
But it's the backrooms and corridors of Parliament House where many of the the most significant, and at times captivating, discussions take place.
Cameras are forbidden in all but a few rooms and corridors of the building, to allow these conversations to take place in the dark, unincumbered by the scrutiny of the press.
After all, "making the sausages" in Canberra is an ugly process and next to nothing would get done if the eyes of the nation were constantly watching the political machine churn them out.
One of the spaces where cameras are allowed, for obvious reasons, is the press gallery corridor.
Politicians of all shades regularly and willingly run this gauntlet, to pop into various television and radio studios, to tell their constituents what they've been up to.
Occasionally they just happen to bump into each other with a bang.
We saw this with Barnaby Joyce and Joel Fitzgibbon last year.
There's a good deal of pantomime at the centre of these spontaneous corridor clashes.
But the issue at stake, bringing the pandemic under control, is the furthest thing from child's play.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTAzL2NyYWlnLWtlbGx5LXRhbnlhLXBsaWJlcnNlay1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1jb3JyaWRvci1zdG91c2gvMTMxMTU3NTLSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTMxMTU3NTI?oc=5
2021-02-03 01:20:00Z
52781349494274
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Craig Kelly and Tanya Plibersek clash in Parliament House corridor over COVID misinformation - ABC News"
Post a Comment