Cabinet acts like CLP, says Collins
FORMER Labor Party member Jeff Collins says the Government is “exactly like the CLP”.
The comments come after he quit the party on Friday night, after more than 30 years of membership.
In December last year Mr Collins, alongside Ken Vowles and Scott McConnell, were booted from Caucus but allowed to remain as members of the Labor Party.
Mr Collins said the Gunner Government was going down the same path as the Country Liberal Party. “They are exac- tly like the CLP. They’ve managed to hide it under a wallpaper of solidarity,” he said.
“I don’t think this parliament is farcical, I think this government is farcical and that’s because they don’t listen.
“They don’t listen to their own members they certainly don’t listen to the opposition and the crossbenchers and that’s clear when you watch parliament and you see the way their members behave.”
Mr Collins said he would not rule out shaking things up during the first sittings of the year, next week.
Mr Vowles and Mr McCon- nell said they both intended to stay in the party but felt for Mr Collins and his decision to quit the party.
On Friday Mr Collins met with independent Terry Mills, who on Tuesday formed an alliance with Robyn Lambley and Yingiya Guyula. He said he had no plans to join the coalition, yet.
“I did have a meeting with Terry Mills yesterday. It was an interesting meeting and cordial meeting. He filled me in on what he and Robyn Lambley and Yingiya Guyula are thinking,” he said.
“He didn’t ask me to sign my life away.”
Mr Collins said he had been barred from government sections of Parliament House and was booted off two parliamentary committees.
Mr Collins, who is the Member for Fong Lim, said the restrictions placed on him by Chief Minister Michael Gunner and the parliamentary Labor Party were “unacceptable”.
The Chief Minister said Mr Collins’ goal was to damage the government.
“We won’t be distracted from focusing exclusively on creating jobs, cutting crime and delivering generational change,” Mr Gunner said.