Australian prime minister ‘read Riot Act’ to lawmakers after government loses votes
Australia’s prime minister said on Friday that he “read the Riot Act” to lawmakers who caused the government to lose votes in Parliament by sneaking out early.
The government lost three votes in the House of Representatives late Thursday because the absence of several government lawmakers gave the opposition Labor Party a majority.
They know they did the wrong thing. I read the Riot Act to them, their colleagues will all read the Riot Act to them
It was a humiliating blow to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s promise of a stable government in the first week Parliament has met since a July election left his conservative coalition with a single-seat majority.
Turnbull said it was a wake-up call to the lawmakers, including three ministers who left Parliament House early on the final sitting day of the week.
“They know they did the wrong thing. I read the Riot Act to them, their colleagues will all read the Riot Act to them,” Turnbull told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
Parliament ends its week at 5pm on a Thursday, and the adjournment motion is usually a formality that doesn’t require a vote. But Labor took advantage of the government lawmakers leaving early by defeating the motion and forcing the chamber to continue the session.
Labor then won three votes on procedural matters which did not affect government legislation.
