ONE of the most revealing votes cast by Nationals MP Andrew Gee was not mentioned in the story "How Gee voted in last federal term" (CWD, Saturday, May 14) and did not take place in the public glare of the federal parliament. It was the vote Mr Gee cast behind the closed doors of the Nationals' party room to overthrow his leader Michael McCormack and install Barnaby Joyce.
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The result meant that as leader of the junior Coalition party, Mr Joyce automatically became deputy prime minister in July 2021.
Readers may recall Mr Joyce's behaviour in Canberra in 2017 resulted in then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introducing his "Bonk Ban". It aimed to enforce some personal discipline in the Coalition ranks that went beyond the type that party whips usually enforce.
Readers may also recall Mr Joyce's frank, uncensored assessment of the current Prime Minister Scott Morrison in March 2021 as "a hypocrite and a liar from my observations and that is over a long time." "A complete psycho" was another assessment of our current Prime Minister by his Number 2.
Mr Joyce recanted later, claiming not that the statements were untrue, but that since he had returned to the position of deputy prime minister he had changed his opinion of Mr Morrison. His assessment ahead of this federal election was that Mr Morrison is "a person of high integrity and honesty .. "
A sceptic of Mr Joyce's epiphany in high office might define him as a "loose unit", but don't expect such an assessment from Mr Gee. He clearly thinks Mr Joyce is of a moral calibre suitable to be the deputy prime minister of this nation.
He presumably also thinks the watered down climate targets which Mr Joyce wrung out of his prime minister before the trip to the Glasgow climate summit were good for the voters of Calare, the nation and world.
There are of course other parliamentary votes Mr Gee has taken which should cause alarm - his refusal to even support debate of a private member's bill for a federal integrity commission from Independent MP for Indi Dr Helen Haines, is but one.
Then there are the preference deals which Mr Gee has done with candidates in Calare. The second best candidate for the seat of Calare - after himself - is Clive Palmer's pick Adam Jannis in the United Australia Party. The next best, his third preference is Stacey Whittaker of Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
Before Calare voters cast their votes in this election they should ask themselves just how much importance Mr Gee puts on representing their best interests and values and how much more he puts on the political survival of his party.
Tony Rhead
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