The government will not yet move to change the makeup of parliamentary committees despite the Coalition’s ongoing split, according to senior minister Tony Burke.
Burke told the House the current committee arrangements would remain in place for now, even as the Nationals continue to sit apart from the Liberals.
Committee numbers are fixed between government, opposition and crossbench members, leaving uncertainty if the split drags on.
The powerful parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security has no crossbench representation, raising the prospect Nationals senator Susan McDonald could lose her seat if the Coalition is formally treated as divided.
In response, manager of opposition business Alex Hawke moved amendments to Burke’s motion.
Hawke labelled Burke’s comments “unedifying”, prompting boos from Labor benches.
He argued the Nationals were not part of the crossbench and said the opposition should retain at least eight questions during question time.
“It’s purely a government trick to define them as crossbenchers,” Hawke said.
Hawke accused Labor of trying to reduce transparency, pointing to the stalled freedom of information legislation the government attempted to pass late last year.
