The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has urged discipline among MPs, warning that the party’s election win does not give them a “blank cheque” to freelance on issues beyond what was promised to the Australian public.
As Coalition MPs agitate publicly for policy changes on Newstart and superannuation, Morrison told the party room meeting on Tuesday that they should be mindful of “what we took to the election and what we didn’t take to the election” and stick to delivering on the party’s “values and policies”.
“Government is not a blank cheque,” Morrison said. “It is a contract with the public and they understand why they voted for us.
“We must all be mindful of sticking to that and not running off on other issues that we didn’t take to the election and especially not doing so publicly.”
The prime minister said that if MPs had policy issues they wanted to explore, they should first speak to the relevant minister and use the backbench committee process and the party room to ventilate ideas. He cited examples of where positive progress had been made using such avenues, including policy development for suicide prevention, Indigenous recognition and help for eating disorders.
“They are the processes you can use to get things done. And also the processes that, when you use them effectively, earn the respect of your colleagues,” he said. “You go outside of those processes, it’s showing disrespect to those you’re sitting next to, it’s showing disrespect to your other colleagues.”
But as the prime minister urged unity, MPs raised concern about the party’s position on a number of issues, including constitutional recognition and Newstart, while new Queensland senator Gerard Rennick asked government MPs to tell former ministers Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne to quit their new jobs as they were “creating difficulties” for the government.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce told the party room that the government should consider a lift to the Newstart payment, saying people were “doing it tough” and were relying heavily on services such as St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army.
Queensland senator James McGrath asked Morrison to clarify what the party’s position was on constitutional recognition, after the party split on whether an Indigenous “voice” to parliament, as recommended by the Uluru Statement of the Heart, would be enshrined in the constitution.
Morrison emphasised that there had been no change to the party’s position since the election and suggested it had been “unfair” to suggest that Wyatt had proposed otherwise.
Wyatt urged colleagues to consult with their communities and noted that “he did not want to see the nation divided, he wanted to find a way for us to walk together” He also assured them that if the government pursued an Indigenous voice, it would be legislated and not constitutionally enshrined.
MPs also spoke about the case of academic Peter Ridd, with the attorney general, Christian Porter, suggesting the commonwealth could offer financial assistance to help his legal fight against James Cook University.
James Cook University is considering its legal options after the federal circuit court ruled it had unlawfully sacked a professor who had criticised scientific research about the climate change impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
The education minister, Dan Tehan, said he was concerned about academic freedom, while Porter has told MPs a commonwealth fund – the Commonwealth Public Interest and Test Cases Scheme – may be available to help.
A spokesman said the scheme provided “financial assistance for cases of public importance, that settle an uncertain area or question of commonwealth law, or that resolve a question of commonwealth law that affects the rights of a disadvantaged section of the public”.
As the Coalition focuses its attention on national security and industrial relations legislation in parliament this week, Morrison commended MPs for making a “good strong start” to the new parliamentary term, but cautioned against hubris.
“We should not underestimate the Labor party because at some stage they will presumably regroup and get their act together.”
Labor, which has agreed to support the government’s national security and drought bills, has accused the government of “looking for arguments rather than looking for solutions”.
“They won the election in May, ever since then they’ve acted like an opposition in exile,” opposition leader Anthony Albanese said. “They’re looking for wedge politics and on each occasion they’re putting forward legislation, they’re not saying: ‘We’re putting this forward because it’s in the national interest.’ They’re saying: ‘We’re putting this forward because it’s a test for Labor.’
“That’s a bizarre way for a government that was elected just two months ago into its third term to be behaving.”
