Govt likely to be 'fragile': Labor MP

As the three undecided independents prepare to announce which side of politics
they'll support, a senior Labor MP has conceded stability is likely to be an issue
for whichever party forms government.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon has admitted that any government formed with just 76 of
the 150 seats in the House of Representatives would be "fragile".
The admission comes as the coalition's objections to a number of parliamentary
reforms put forward by the gang of three - Rob Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Tony
Windsor - threaten to further delay an election outcome more than two weeks after
the August 21 poll.
Ms Roxon said stability would be an issue if Labor, which currently has 74 seats
compared to the coalition's 73, was only able to secure the support of two of the
three independents.
"Seventy-six is what is needed, 77 is obviously better," she told ABC Television on
Sunday, adding that with 76 "it will be fragile".
"It's now our obligation to make sure that we can deliver a stable and effective
government with those numbers."
The final make-up of the numbers in the lower house could now be delayed further
with the coalition rejecting a number of reforms proposed by the three independents.
Mr Oakeshott, who has spearheaded the call for reforms, wants both sides to agree to
them before he and his fellow independents announce which party they will back.
But manager of opposition business Christopher Pyne said the coalition would not
support two key areas of reform around the selection of the speaker and pairing of
votes.
The reforms released on Saturday by Mr Oakeshott include a proposal to have the
speaker and deputy speaker drawn from both sides of politics.
Neither would attend party room meetings and pairing arrangements would be in place
for both. That means their vote would be paired with someone from the other side of
politics, cancelling each other out.
Mr Pyne said such a pairing arrangement would strengthen the government's hand.
"My role as manager of opposition business is to ensure that the parliament is not
diminished and the executive's power increased," he told AAP.
"If you pair the speaker automatically then the government' position is actually
strengthened because previously the speaker has always been a vote that the
government has been down," he said.
The reforms also include time limits for questions and answers during Question Time
and an acknowledgment of country prior to prayers, in a mark of respect to
indigenous Australians.
There are also proposals for a turbo-charged committee system and a parliamentary
budget office.
Labor MP Anthony Albanese said Labor had agreed to all of the proposals and urged
the coalition to do the same.
"The prime minister signed on behalf of Labor yesterday with Rob Oakeshott," Mr
Albanese told the Nine Network, adding that the coalition was now "dragging its
feet".
Mr Pyne said Labor was only so keen to agree to the reforms because it sensed it was
on the verge of securing the numbers to form government.
The comment came amid speculation Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor are set to offer their
support to Labor.
Mr Windsor has been a supporter of Labor's National Broadband Network (NBN) for its
benefits for the bush and on Sunday ramped up his criticism of the coalition's
alternative as a "retrograde policy".
The coalition has promised a patchwork of various technologies to deliver broadband
to Australians, for much less than Labor's $43 billion scheme, but the opposition's
plan has been widely criticised by industry stakeholders.
The three independents were given a briefing on the NBN last week.
In an 11th hour pitch to win them over, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott used a column
in a Sunday newspaper to warn that choosing a Labor government would see them "in
defiance of the expressed political preference and the economic interests of their
own electorates".
A coalition government, on the other hand, would offer "the most country-orientated
national government since World War II", he said.
Mr Albanese said he was confident the gang of three would base their decision on the
national interest.
"It seems to me, as the days have gone on, the coalition has become increasingly
shrill, have increasingly gone from a position of talking about parliament being a
more gentle place and there being more co-operation, to one of almost trying to
intimidate people into making a decision in their favour," Mr Albanese said.