It looks like we’re in for a few months of Q&A without any Liberal frontbenchers.
Tony Abbott has given his marching orders and banned all of ’em from appearing on the show, at least until the ABC commissioned independent inquiry into the Zaky Mallah episode is finished.
“The Prime Minister has communicated that he does not want any frontbencher to appear on Q&A,” said a spokesman for Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce’s office, who was forced to withdraw from tonight’s episode of Q&A at the eleventh hour.
When Tony Abbott’s office was asked for a further explanation, a spokesman said: “Given the ABC is undertaking an inquiry into Q&A, it isn’t appropriate for Minister Joyce to appear tonight.”
By that logic, we can assume Abbott won’t want any frontbencher to appear on Q&A until the investigation is over. And if past editorial audits are to go by, this one could take up to eight to 12 weeks.
We are potentially facing three months free of Liberal frontbenchers appearing on Q&A, which as well as being straight up petulant, allows the MPs who run this country to avoid answering questions from the public, other panelists, and host Tony Jones. Ugh. UGH.
It also puts Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who’s scheduled to appear on Q&A next week, in a tricky position. Although he joined in criticising Q&A after the Zaky Mallah episode, he’s since acknowledged they apologised, dealt with it, and are moving on, and said he’ll continue to appear on Q&A as long as they invite them. Now, he’ll either be forced to either renege on his word, or very publicly defy the PM.
In other words, he’s stuck between a rock and a far right place. This basically sums up half of Twitter right now:
Q&A, for their part, is going to continue to lob live grenades into the party room invite Liberal frontbenchers on to the show.
Meanwhile, Barnaby Joyce is said to be furious he’s been prevented from appearing on Q&A tonight – he’d heard a rumour that someone was going to try and sneak a Yorkshire Terrier into the studio down the front of their shirt.
SERIOUSLY THOUGH, he had a white paper on agriculture to sell to the public, and now he can’t.
Then again, maybe Tony Abbott is just being smart. If you had a MP who’d just said something as dimwitted as calling marriage equality a “decadent” law that would anger Asia, you wouldn’t want him anywhere near a collective of people for whom common sense isn’t just an option, it’s a way of life.
