Source : the age
By Paul Sakkal
Dumped Labor minister Ed Husic has launched a sensational attack on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, describing him as a “factional assassin” whose decision to get rid of two ministers compromised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election victory.
In a provocative interview following his removal from cabinet last week, Husic also criticised Labor for being “shackled” by timidity on policy and claimed his removal as a minister was due in part as retaliation for his outspoken pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Dumped Labor minister Ed Husic criticised the deputy prime minister.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The member for the Sydney seat of Chifley made the remarks ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning in an interview that was scheduled before Husic learnt in the middle of last week that he would lose his position in the ministry.
The Victorian Right faction, led by Marles, was underrepresented in the cabinet and it was entitled to two new spots, for MPs Sam Rae and Daniel Mulino, meaning Husic, from the NSW Right, and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus were forced to make way. The NSW Right had six minsters and it was its decision to pick Husic once it learnt it needed to hand a spot to a Victorian.
“We’ve had bare-faced ambition and a deputy prime minister wield a factional club to reshape the ministry,” Husic said, in one of the most striking displays of disunity in the life of the Albanese government.
“I think people when they look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin.”
Husic said the prime minister could have stopped Marles, and that the factional coup had hurt the image of the newly elected Labor government.
“I just feel for the supporters of our party, who went from the high of a Saturday and a terrific and tremendous win … I just feel like it’s been a distraction at the start of what’ll be a successful second term,” he said, urging Albanese to “burn through the timidity that shackled us” in its first term.
A spokeswoman for Marles declined to comment on Husic’s comments.
Husic, who is Muslim, was a consistent voice against the Israeli military operation in Gaza. Some Muslim leaders have expressed concern about his removal from cabinet, but another Muslim, Anne Aly, is likely to be elevated.
The other minister axed last week, Dreyfus, was the government’s most senior Jewish MP and helped retain relations with the Jewish community amid rancorous debate after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Husic claimed his pro-Palestinian advocacy played a part in his removal.
Mark Dreyfus entering Labor’s caucus meeting on Friday with assistant minister Julian Hill.Credit: James Brickwood
“I think it’s been a factor in there,” he said. “I don’t think I could ever stay silent in the face of innocent civilians slaughtered in tens of thousands, starved out of Gaza. It should be held to account; starvation is a war crime.”
“You can’t celebrate diversity and then expect it to sit in a corner … I certainly took the view you need to speak up for the communities that you care about,” Husic said.
“I would hate us to think we get to a situation like Trump Republicans who know something is wrong and don’t speak. I’m not saying that is the case here, but there is a role, a value in questioning and speaking up.”
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