The Liberal party has accused the government of trying to avoid scrutiny after Labor moved to reduce the number of opposition questions in parliament.
Liberal chief whip Aaron Violi told the House there was “a lot of hubris” on the government benches.
Violi said question time must remain a forum where the opposition can properly hold the government to account.
He accused the Labor caucus of failing to stand up to its own leadership and pointed to stalled gambling reform as evidence.
“It is crucial that the opposition be able to hold this bad government to account, because there is no one within that caucus that will hold the government to account,” Violi said.
He referenced the Murphy report into gambling reform, arguing Labor MPs privately supported stronger action but were unwilling to force the issue.
Violi pointed to comments from the member for Macarthur, who has previously said gambling reform would pass the House if taken to a conscience vote.
The clash comes as the government presses ahead with changes to question time that would reduce opposition questions while boosting the crossbench.
