Nationals whip Mark Coulton says staff drinks are not a place to “get on the turps”.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Davey’s admission prompted defence spokesman Andrew Hastie and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to say they wouldn’t have done the same in parliament,when they were asked about the incident on Sky News on Sunday morning.
However,neither offered support for alcohol and drug testing of MPs following a suggestion last week from the crossbench.
Davey said:“I wouldn’t say I was under the weather. I stumbled over my words. If you want to pick on people who stumble over their words,there are plenty of Labor MPs[who do so].”
The scene unfolded four days after news broke of Joyce lying on Lonsdale St in Braddon late at night on February 7,using profanities while speaking to his wife Vikki Campion after having fallen from a bench.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday warned all MPs to behave responsibly and said Australians would make up their own minds about parliamentarians’ behaviour.
“I think that politicians have a responsibility to think about the great honour that we have of representing our electorates,” he said at a press conference in Nowra,on the NSW South Coast.
Coalition leaders Peter Dutton and Littleproud last weekurged Joyce to take leave to deal with personal issues after the embarrassed New England MP blamed the incident on mixing prescription medication with alcohol.
The episode has heightened tensions within the Nationals and prompted a broader conversation in parliament about the standards of behaviour for MPs and ongoing issues relating to alcohol consumption in Parliament House.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said he wouldn’t drink before attending a committee.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday morning,Rowland said she was “not going to judge” Davey. “My view is:I would not put myself in that position. But again,she has made a statement. I’m not going to argue with it,” Rowland said.
“That was actually my department’s committee where she was appearing at and we saw that on the night. We did not say anything about it ... We are judged by a different set of standards and I think that’s the reality.”
Hastie said parliamentarians were held to high standards,and he would not have two glasses of wine before appearing at a committee. He added that he would not comment on Davey specifically before speaking to her first.
Loading
“I’m not a member of the wowser left or the wowser right. I stand with many Australians in that I enjoy a drink in moderation as part of a normal work-life balance,” he said.
Neither Rowland nor Hastie agreed with a push by independent MP Zali Steggall for random alcohol and breath testing,with Rowland saying MPs were in the unique position of being answerable to their electorates.
Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather told ABC’sInsiders he didn’t think drug and alcohol testing in any workplace was necessarily a good idea. “But certainly I think people are justifiably upset at the standard politicians hold themselves to,” he said.
Rowland said the culture of parliament was improving,including greater support for MPs and their staff.