Turnbull’s tower shakes as Katter pulls support

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Via The Australian, the deal is off:

Bob Katter says he will no longer guarantee supply or confidence in the government in another blow to the Coalition, which is still reeling from the fallout over the Barnaby Joyce dual citizenship drama.

Mr Katter said it was “back to the drawing board” in negotiations for his support.

It comes as Mr Katter, and other independents Rebekha Sharkie and Jacqui Lambie, all called for Mr Joyce to resign from Cabinet this morning.

Mr Katter said he was dissatisfied with the way had been treated Malcolm Turnbull and refused to guarantee his support of the government if a no-confidence motion was tabled in the parliament.

The Courier Mail:

Mr Katter said his support hinged on the government backing his call for a banking Royal Commission and a probe into the need for bio-fuels such as Ethanol.

He did not guarantee supply and confidence to the Coalition if a vote of confidence was called in the lower house.

“All I can say is the opportunity is there,” he said.

To hold onto power, if Mr Joyce lost his seat following a High Court ruling, Mr Turnbull would need to turn to one of five possible allies; independents Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie, Bob Katter of Katter’s Australian Party, Nick Xenophon Team MP Rebekha Sharkie or Greens MP Adam Bandt.

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And via the AFR:

…the reality is that the independent MP for Indi, Cathy McGowan, has already confirmed her agreement with the Coalition on confidence and supply – signed after last year’s election – still holds.

And the reality of the government’s legislative program is that it’s biggest current legislative problems lie in a backlog of bills to be considered by the Senate, rather than matters that are awaiting introduction and debate in the house.

If the High Court does find against Joyce, a government on the rope faces both a by-election and a reduction to the status of a minority government that must rely on the support of at least one cross-bencher.

New stadiums all round!

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.