NEWS: THE GLOVES ARE OFF, LIBERAL DEFECTOR ATTACKS HIS FORMER PARTY FOR NOT SUPPORTING THE CAR INDUSTRY. THE Liberal defector Martin Hamilton-Smith has attacked his former party for not supporting the car industry to prevent Holden’s closure, sparking a bitter reaction from state and federal MPs. The former South Australian Liberal leader, who has joined the minority Labor government, yesterday said that several of his former colleagues had actively sought the car industry’s demise. “I was not happy with our position on Holden,” he told the South Australian Press Club. “I had successfully argued to the partyroom that we should fight hard to save the automotive industry and to argue for a federal rescue package, and at the very least to extend the economic transition period over a longer term. “Not only did we fail to stand up for Holden, but in certain actions we actively sought to rip the company down. “We failed the automotive sectors, we failed the workers and we failed the families.” In a shock move, Mr Hamilton-Smith last month joined Jay Weatherill’s frontbench just two months after the election, all but guaranteeing the nation’s only state Labor government will survive until the 2018 election. In his first major public appearance to explain his decision to switch sides, which sparked a bitter public and political reaction, Mr Hamilton-Smith criticised the Liberal Party for its small-target strategy and lack of policy vision. In pointed remarks aimed at the opposition’s leadership group, he said no one had taken any responsibility for the party’s fourth consecutive election loss and “nothing had changed”. He said he expected another election loss for the party in 2018 and took particular aim at the federal branch of the party for its involvement in the campaign. “The campaign pitched to people already voting Liberal ... but failed to land a punch in the marginal seats that decided the result,” he said. “Federal politicians seemed to have a lot of commentary ... on state politics. Maybe they need to be told to concentrate on what their responsibilities are and leave the state to get on with the job.” South Australian federal MP Jamie Briggs said Mr Hamilton-Smith’s speech was “driven by anger”. Liberal MP and former Hamilton-Smith ally Michael Pengilly said the former leader had “lost the plot”. theaustralian.au/national-affairs/state-politics/gloves-off-as-defector-explains/story-e6frgczx-1226969426861
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:35:01 +0000
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