A sad day for our nation as our Prime Minister breaks another promise and further distances truth from our life.
Listen to Andrew Wilkie as he tells of the “Prime Minister’s failure to honour her agreement” on pokies reform:
“Consequently I regard the Prime Minister to be in breach of the written agreement she signed, leaving me no option but to honour my word and end my current relationship with her government.
“Frankly, a deal’s a deal and it must be honoured. Our democracy is simply too precious to trash with broken promises and backroom compromises. So I will walk, take my chances and so be it.
“As someone said to me this week, millions of people are concerned about poker machines, but everyone should care about politicians being true to their word.”
Read more :Wilkie ditches Labour over PM’s pokie backflip and ABC Report, Wilkie withdraws support over broken pokies deal.
Yesterday the Prime Minister said that Mr Wilkie did not have the numbers for reform. Well, so be it; but what is leadership about?
I struggle to understand why the Prime Minister did not show leadership on this significant and damaging social issue by going ahead into the teeth of the storm by introducing legislation and advocating for its approval?
Even if the introduced legislation was not passed by Parliament, at least the Prime Minister would have led and more importantly, held to her word.
The Prime Minister and her cabinet have lost integrity and the very heart of leadership in failing to show the way to a healthier and more just Australia.
Clinging with a skeletal hand to parliamentary power our Prime Minister has impoverished her people.
What a sad gift for Australia Day.
What a parody our Prime Minster makes of ‘courage’!
How will the second verse of our National Anthem be sung?
With courage let us all combine To Advance Australia Fair. In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance Australia Fair.Yet, we must work courageously and pray for a fair Australia: to truly “advance Australia fair”.
Please remember Andrew Wilkie in your prayers as he comes to terms with this broken promise. Also pray for all those Australians addicted to poker machine gambling, their families, friends, work places and community.
See, Stop the Loss coalition and earlier this week my media release.
She has the intellect and eloquence to be a very reasonable leader, but when her integrity is tested she regularly fails – far too often these days. Clinging to power in the short term is the political priority. Sadly it’s not much better on the flip side of politics. Tough times for a Labour sympathiser. Re-reading Mark Latham’s book (remember him?) gives some considerable insight into the minds of those whose ego, and lust for power and importance, would make them politicians.
Well said. The Prime Minister’s actions are deplorable. She is now more concerned about “losing face” of possibly being defeated in parliament rather than attempting to honour her word. Curious how when she first made the agreement with Andrew Wilkie she clearly thought she “had the numbers” then and her position has since strengthened with the defection of Peter Slipper from the Coalition – or was she lying to Andrew Wilkie in the first place? The government also tries the tired old line of blaming the opposition because “they could support it” (like they did with asylum seeker legislation) but the fact is they are the government of the day, they are responsible for introducing and passing legislation AND might I add, negotiating with those on the cross benches who support them. Political expediency and weak leadership.