Liberal MP Craig Kelly has stunned colleagues by telling the Coalition party room he will quit the government’s ranks and immediately move to the crossbench as an independent.
Mr Kelly told colleagues he would still support the government on matters of supply and confidence, sources in the room said.
Liberal MP Craig Kelly has resigned from the party to move to the crossbench.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Kelly told the room he wanted to “stay true” to what he believes in and to himself, a source said. Sources in the party room said he was “very kind and generous” to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Mr Kelly told Sky News Australia he has resigned with a “heavy heart” but he could only speak “frankly” and “fearlessly’ from the crossbench.
He said he had the “greatest respect” for Mr Morrison and hoped he would go on to become one of the most successful prime ministers.
His defection to the crossbench to sit as an independent reduces the government number of seats to 76 in the 151-seat House of Representatives, which means Mr Morrison will need at least one of the crossbench to guarantee support on the floor.
Labor MP Tanya Plibersek and Liberal MP Craig Kelly clash as they cross paths in Parliament House’s press gallery.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Kelly, who holds the NSW seat of Hughes in southern Sydney, has been an increasingly controversial figure during the coronavirus pandemic through his promotion of alternative treatments for the virus through his social media.
He was last week banned from posting on Facebook for one week after he violated the tech giant’s COVID-19 misinformation policy.
Following a recent public clash with Labor MP Tanya Plibersek over treatments for COVID-19, Mr Kelly was given a “dressing down” by Mr Morrison, telling him he could not support his actions and wanted him to refrain from pushing views that were contrary to health advice.
Mr Kelly later issued a public statement saying he agreed to support the government’s vaccine rollout.
Facebook last week deleted four coronavirus-related posts from Mr Kelly’s official MP Facebook page, including one where he likened the wearing of masks by children to child abuse.
Since the Coalition formed government Mr Kelly has been one of its most prolific media performers and was an outspoken critic of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull over energy policy.
He won first won the seat of Hughes in 2010 after the retirement of Danna Vale and both Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison have been forced to intervene to save him from preselection challenges.
Rob Harris is the National Affairs Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House in Canberra
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2021-02-23 00:26:54Z
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