Jacqui Lambie prepared to split Palmer United Party over demand for better Defence Force pay deal

Updated

Palmer United Party (PUP) senator Jacqui Lambie says she is prepared to cause a split within her party over her demands for better pay for Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.

Senator Lambie threatened to oppose all government legislation unless it boosted the pay deal handed down to serving men and women last week.

Defence personnel will get a pay rise of 1.5 per cent a year for three years, but with inflation at 2.3 per cent that amounts to a wage cut in real terms.

Senator Lambie is demanding they get at least 3 per cent, and until they do she has also promised to turn her back on Coalition politicians at Remembrance Day and Anzac services.

She told the ABC she was going to "fight like hell" to get a better deal, and "if Clive Palmer doesn't want to stand beside me, that's Clive Palmer's call".

"It's getting to the point where I just don't care what Clive Palmer's position is on this at the moment," she said.

"If he had a conscience, he'd stand right beside me and our troops and our veterans and make a stance on this now."

She said ADF personnel were "prepared to take a round for their country, and some of them are on less than $100,000 a year to do this".

"You want to give them a pay cut and you want to take leave off them at Christmas time? That leave that they spend with their families that is so precious to them ... no, it's enough. [Prime Minister Tony] Abbott has gone right over the line on this one."

The Government needs the support of six of the eight Senate crossbenchers to pass contentious pieces of legislation.

If Senator Lambie abstains or votes against a bill, the Coalition has less room to manoeuvre.

Palmer can't sit on the fence, Lambie says

Senator Lambie said she told her party leader about her plan to vote against all government legislation.

She said Mr Palmer did not try to talk her out of it, but did not offer support either.

"Clive Palmer can no longer sit on the fence," she said.

"He's either standing by me or standing by the Liberal-National Party. I'm not going to stand around watching Clive Palmer backflipping all over the place.

"I care what Clive thinks, but if I'm not going to agree with that then it's just tough. Clive's going to have to suck it up."

In a statement, Mr Palmer said he would consistently oppose any reductions in pay to people who served the country.

"In relation to Senator Lambie and her comments, she is very passionate about this issue as she did wear a uniform and served this country for more than 10 years," he said.

"The beauty of democracy is that people are allowed to have their own positions on matters such as these."

Senator Lambie said she had no intention of leaving the PUP, even if she had to split with her colleagues on this issue.

But a spokesman for Mr Palmer was optimistic the PUP would remain a united force.

"Senator Lambie has always voted with the Palmer United Party and we expect that to continue," he said.

The party's unity will not be put to the test for a few weeks.

Several pieces of contentious legislation in the Senate, like university deregulation, are opposed by the party anyway, meaning Senator Lambie's vote is largely irrelevant.

Tight budget leaves little room for higher pay: Hockey

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has written to the Prime Minister formally requesting that he urge the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal to reconsider the pay offer.

Mr Shorten says the decision has caused a community backlash, is affecting defence morale, and has the potential to impact on retention and recruitment.

But Treasurer Joe Hockey said, although he wished he could pay Defence personnel more, the money was not in the budget.

"I'd say to Senator Lambie and others and to Bill Shorten, if you want to pay people more you've got to have more income, and when you oppose initiatives in the budget that reduce government expenditure, all you're doing is making it harder for us to pay people more at the end of the day because the money isn't there," he said.

"We have to live within our means and everyone is making a contribution, but if the Government is hamstrung by Senator Lambie and others that are opposing a reduction in government expenditure, then there's certainly no money there to pay other people more."

The Coalition's leader in the Senate, Eric Abetz, said Senator Lambie's threat was improper.

He said all senators should assess each piece of legislation on its merits.

"It would be a tragic thing for our fellow Australians if good legislation that we all agreed upon got voted down because of upset in another area," he said.

"That's like cutting off your nose to spite your face and I don't think it's a proper approach."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the Prime Minister should "hang his head in shame" over the issue.

"It is disrespectful, it is disgraceful and it is disastrous for the men and women we ask to protect Australia," he said.

"If Tony Abbott really valued our soldiers, pilots and Navy personnel, he'd pay them properly."

Mr Shorten said funding for a fair pay deal was provided for in the budget.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-parliament, laws, defence-forces, australia

First posted