The Project co-host Lisa Wilkinson slammed Liberal MP Andrew Laming after multiple allegations of misconduct have been made known in the press.
Laming has taken medical leave after being accused of taking a photograph of a woman bending over to fill a fridge with soft drinks without her consent as well as abusing two women online to the point where one considered suicide.
Laming has vigorously denied the allegations but has announced he will be quitting politics at the next federal election and will not move to the crossbench.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said that he should quit now and not wait until the next election.
Wilkinson had clearly had enough and slammed him in Sunday night’s episode.
“One of the coalition’s scandal-ridden MPs is stepping away from politics, and the fact we even need to specify which one it is shows how dire things are for the government … Good point Lisa,” she said.
She then decided to slam Scott Morrison who ordered Laming to undergo “empathy training” to “build understanding and awareness” around his behaviour.
One of the Coalition’s scandal-ridden MPs is stepping away from politics. Today Andrew Laming confirmed he will not contest the next election — but will that be enough? pic.twitter.com/tpFGurzMMw
— The Project (@theprojecttv) March 28, 2021
“Let’s hope whoever is in charge of Laming’s empathy training isn’t the same team in charge of Scott Morrison’s empathy training because we all know the tax payer funded bin-fire that‘s turned out to be,” Wilkinson said.
“When it comes to this cabinet reshuffle that’s supposedly being looked at in the next couple of days, surely Linda Reynolds and Christian Porter have got to be removed from that front bench,” Wilkinson said.
The Sunday Project co-host Peter Van Onselen said that he would “punt the both of them”.
“That might seem unfair to Christian Porter given he’s denying the allegation but politics isn’t always fair, it’s about a lot more than that,” PVO said.
“The simple fact is this government is bleeding from a gushing open wound, and pushing him onto the backbench, and the same with Linda Reynolds, frees up spots for more women, and in Linda Reynolds’ case, a woman that hasn’t perhaps called an alleged rape victim a lying cow.
“Both of them out of the road would be what Scott Morrison needs to show that everything he says he wants to do by way of action is more than just words, but it has action to follow.”
PVO also pointed out the double standards the Prime Minister seems to have after he urged ex Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate to stand down after purchasing $3,000 Cartier watches as bonuses for executives.
“(Christine) was howled down by the prime minister in parliament and pushed aside like that,” PVO said.
“These are much more serious allegations, much more serious admitted to actions in the case of the other Minister (Reynolds).”
Wilkinson said, “The thing is, Christine Holgate is a woman and Christian Porter is a man. There’s your difference right there.”
“Brittany Higgins will not be silenced,” Wilkinson said. “What has left me in awe is the way this country has responded to this story. Finally we are having the conversations we have been aching to have for far too long.”
This article originally appeared on Over60.