Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says Labor’s ongoing acceptance of the Member for Blain’s conduct sends a disturbing message that the disgraced MLA’s behaviour is tolerated and even condoned by the party.
“Labor’s failure to dump the Member for Blain for his scandalous and unparliamentary behaviour is not only weak, but again proves Michael Gunner has lost all control.
“The Chief Minister wrote to the Labor party president urging her to tear up the Member for Blain’s membership – which she clearly ignored. The rejection of calls for the Member for Blain to stand down gives the green light to unacceptable, deliberately deceitful behaviour by Labor members.
“The Chief Minister has labelled the Member for Blain’s behaviour as dishonest and said he was ousted from Labor’s parliamentary team because of a “profound lack of trust”. Why should this behaviour be accepted by the people of Blain?
“Labor’s six female Ministers, and Speaker, condemned the Member for Blain for his
dishonesty, yet they’re happy to sit alongside him in parliament and accept his tainted vote.
“It’s shameful Caucus members won’t publicly call for the resignation of the Member for Blain, or condemn the Chief Minister for his role in the cover-up. The irony is, if they did they’d be booted from Caucus quicker that the Member for Blain was.
“How can the Member for Blain continue to represent his constituents at school assemblies, public functions or on the floor of parliament with this hanging over his head? The reality is, he can’t. The people of Blain deserve better,” said Ms Finocchiaro.