Peter Dutton reveals how Jacqui Lambie’s medevac vote was secured
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has explained how the government managed to secure Senator Jacqui Lambie’s vote to repeal the medevac laws.
The controversial legislation was introduced earlier this year when independent Kerryn Phelps managed to get the support of Labor, the Greens and other crossbenchers to bypass the government.
It has been heavily criticised since, with the government claiming many of those brought to Australia have refused medical treatment.
The government has now been accused of reaching a ‘secret deal’ with the senator after she broke down while revealing she couldn’t explain why she was voting to repeal the legislation due to “national security reasons”.
But Peter Dutton tells Ray Hadley the accusations are ludicrous and she was simply given a briefing about the situation.
“The fact is that we provided Jacqui with a classified briefing.
“She had a much better understanding of what it is we’re doing behind the scenes and she rightly understood then and accepted that Scott Morrison and I don’t want anyone on Manus and Nauru.
“We got support on that basis.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
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