Tom Elliott slams Liberal MPs over ‘sneaky’ stunt in parliament

Tom Elliott has had a crack at the Victorian Liberal Party over its “sneaky” move that saw two MPs return to vote down the controversial firefighter bill after previously asking to be excused.

Liberal MPs Bernie Finn and Craig Ondarchie had initially asked to be excused to attend church on Good Friday, however, reappeared in parliament to vote.

The duo were excused from the debate under a practice called pairing, where an MP who is absent requests an MP from the other side to also excuse themselves.

While a critic of the controversial bill, Tom Elliott said it was a low tactic from the opposition.

“It was within the rules of the game, but certainly not within the spirit,” he said.

The 3AW Drive host said the Liberal Party had created a rod for its own back and shouldn’t expect the favour returned from Labor should it claim power at the next election.

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