The former science and industry minister has been dropped from frontbench amid Labor cabinet reshuffle. Follow today’s news live
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‘Factional assassin’
Husic says deputy prime minister Richard Marles wielded “a factional club to reshape the ministry”. The former minister for industry and science is speaking on ABC Insiders.
Factions play a really important role in managing merit, moderating ambition and providing an orderly transition for renewal. That’s very important.
The difficult issue here is that we’ve had bare faced ambition and a deputy prime minister wield a factional club to reshape the ministry. I think people, when they look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin.
You can’t celebrate diversity and then expect it to sit in the corner silent. You need to speak up, when you bring the different views to either a Cabinet table or a caucus. I certainly took the view you need to speak up for the communities that you care about. I certainly tried to help us navigate … difficult issues, such as Gaza, post the horrors of October 7. I don’t think I could ever stay silent in the face of innocent civilians slaughtered, tens of thousands starved out of Gaza. So, I tried to find the way to be able to speak to the Cabinet table and speak elsewhere, to be able to make sure that their voices are heard.
And importantly, if I can end on this point. There are a lot of people that are seeing things on the TV screens, seeing the horrors, turning to their political representatives, and they’re not asking for the lines of the day, they’re asking for a statement of values, what you believe in, what you will stand up for, and I think that is an important obligation to fulfil.
I think it’s been a factor in there. Would I do things differently? I don’t think so.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/may/11/australia-news-live-liberal-leadership-jacinta-price-angus-taylor-labor-cabinet-anthony-albanese-ntwnfb
Author : Rafqa Touma
Publish date : 2025-05-10 23:48:00
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