Ed Husic hits out at Deputy PM after being dumped from cabinet

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Dumped Labor frontbencher Ed Husic has offered a stunning critique of the reasons behind the decision to cut him from the cabinet. He says being outspoken on the conflict in Gaza was a factor in the decision.

Transcript

00:00A stunning critique, as you say. Ed Husic not holding back in his criticism after being

00:09dumped from the front bench late last week as a result of a factional battle for representation

00:17among the Cabinet. So he is the outgoing industry and science minister. And as I say, not holding

00:25back in his interview this morning on the ABC's Insiders program, where he said that this

00:32was basically an unfortunate way of handling the situation, accepting that the factions

00:39do have a significant role in deciding who will make it onto the front bench. But leaving

00:47no thoughts held back in terms of his criticism of the role of the deputy prime minister in

00:57this, Richard Miles, he says that it was nothing but deliberate, the last minute nature of the

01:04handling of this decision and how that unfolded. Take a listen.

01:08Look, the difficult issue here is that we've had, you know, sort of barefaced ambition and

01:14a deputy prime minister wheeled a factional club to reshape the ministry. I think when

01:21people look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional

01:26assassin.

01:28He also said that the Labor Party couldn't celebrate its diversity and then expect those

01:34diverse members of the Cabinet to remain silent in a corner during some of the tougher, more

01:41fraught subjects, including Gaza. He says that his decision to be more outspoken on that

01:47topic in particular, he believes was a factor in the decision to see him not retain his spot

01:55on the Cabinet. He also said that the party had been held back in its first term and said

02:04that there needs to be a burning through of the timidity that overshadowed the first term

02:09of the Parliament to some degree and has called for more ambition in terms of policy in this

02:18second term.

02:20Also, Nicole, Jacinta Price has confirmed that she's going to run to be deputy Liberal leader.

02:26Tell us more.

02:27That's right. So we already knew that Susan Lee and Angus Taylor were the respective moderate

02:34and conservative contenders to take over the leadership of the Liberal Party after Peter

02:40Dutton lost last Saturday night and that they each need a deputy to run alongside them.

02:47Last week, we saw the defection of Jacinta Numpajimpa Price from sitting in the Nationals party room

02:55to sit with the Liberals.

02:56And then we've seen confirmation today of what was being suspected last week about her running

03:04as the deputy. She's yet to set foot in the Liberal Party room, but is already running as deputy,

03:13which has brought about much criticism from her colleagues, both former colleagues that she sat

03:18alongside in the Nationals party room and now other members of the Liberal Party, saying that

03:25her ambition is clear here and they haven't necessarily been consulted as part of this decision.

03:33And they're also critical about what it could mean.

03:37Senator Jacinta Price offering some critiques of her own over the handling of the unsuccessful

03:44campaign, but also the decision of her to run as deputy has left some questioning what that

03:52will mean if she is successful for voters who were not supportive of the more conservative

03:59leaning of the opposition at the election last weekend, Lorna.

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