Following last week’s shock blocking by former Labor power broker Adem Somyurek, the Victorian Andrews Government now requires one additional crossbench vote in the 40-member upper house to pass its controversial pandemic bill.
Parliamentary insiders have suggested that Sustainable Australia’s Clifford Hayes and Transport Matters’ Rod Barton are the government’s best hopes for getting the bill through the Legislative Council.
Hayes says the government must agree to a “complete reworking” of the provisions of the bill, and indicated that he hopes to present a list of his proposed “fundamental” changes to the legislation on Monday. Barton is also preparing a list of amendments that he will seek in return for his support.
