But Mr Brough’s actions when he was a Liberal-National candidate seeking to unseat former Speaker Peter Slipper in the seat of Fisher before the 2013 election resurfaced last month when the police raided Mr Brough’s home as part of an investigation into the copying of Mr Slipper’s diaries by his former staffer James Ashby.
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Being reluctant to have their judgments called into question, prime ministers are naturally uninclined to cast off their ministers lightly. Then there’s the federal police investigation into whether Mr Brough sought to procure Mr Slipper’s private diary (an offence which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence) which could yet snare Mr Brough and his ministerial colleagues, Wyatt Roy and Christopher Pyne.
“Guilt or innocence is not determined by public denunciation, here or anywhere else”, Mr Turnbull told parliament.
In that interview, Mr Brough was asked by journalist Liz Hayes whether he asked Mr Ashby to make copies of the diary.
Mr Gissane said it was “way past” time Mr Brough stood down, to enable the issue to be resolved and the focus to return real issues.
“Because there are others in this place that sit across this chamber who have had the unfortunate circumstances to have been looked upon and no-one tried to prosecute the case here”, Mr Brough said.
This contradicts Brough’s response past year on the program.
Mr Dreyfus told the Parliament on Thursday Labor would not forget Mr Turnbull had refused to dismiss the Special Minister of State, nor would it reduce its pressure on the government as Parliament breaks for Christmas. After question time, Liberal Party federal director and former Howard government enforcer Tony Nutt was seen deep in conversation with Mr Brough.
The minister is expected to be targeted again by Labor on the Slipper matter during Thursday’s question time.
Mr Slipper’s resignation in 2012 was one of the more unedifying episodes of the 43rd Parliament, overlaid as it was by treachery, ambition, personal enmity and self-righteousness.
“We have got an instance where someone has asked the staffer of a minister to divulge elements that would otherwise be confidential”, Dr Cook said.
The PM’s polling honeymoon could be over.
Michael Pachi said the Mal Brough issue has the potential to spiral out of control in a similar fashion to former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and the “choppergate” scandal.
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The Member for Fisher survived a no confidence motion brought by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten after the government used its numbers to defeat it on the final parliamentary sitting day for the year.
