Tony Abbott meets Ricky Muir on ‘Senate kindy’ outing to Canberra
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Version 0 of 1. Tony Abbott has had an introductory meeting with the Australian Motoring Enthusiast party senator, Ricky Muir, as the new crossbench senators arrive in Canberra for their so-called “Senate kindy” instruction in voting and procedures on Thursday. Abbott explained how important the budget was to the government and also talked about his plans to abolish the carbon tax, but according to a spokesman Muir did not indicate his voting intention on any issue. Muir has signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the Palmer United party (PUP) but according to his advisers it does not mean he will also vote with the three PUP senators. Remaining independent of the PUP bloc leaves Muir in a powerful swing-vote position when it comes to blocking government bills – which requires three of the eight crossbench votes in addition to Labor and the Greens. “They chatted about their family and their electorates. It was really a ‘welcome to Canberra’ meeting,” Muir’s adviser, Glenn Druery, said. Abbott began meeting the other crossbench senators at the end of May but neither Clive Palmer nor Muir were available. Palmer met Abbott last week after the PUP leader’s dramatic joint media conference with the former US vice-president Al Gore to announce his party’s stance on climate policy. |