‘Extraordinary split’ between Morrison and Frydenberg over ICAC attack

Campaigning in the Melbourne electorate of Chisholm, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese savaged Mr Morrison’s intransigence towards a stronger integrity commission model.

“The reason why there is no national anti corruption commission is sitting all in his frontbench or behind him,” he said. “That’s the fact of the matter.

“Whether it’s John Howard or Malcolm Turnbull or Tony Abbott, I have not seen anyone from either side of politics call a legal process … that Scott Morrison has repeatedly referred to, as a kangaroo court.

“The abuse of taxpayers’ money that we have seen under this government, scandal after scandal, we never get answers over questions including what the Prime Minister’s own office knew about issues.”

Mr Albanese seized on Mr Frydenberg’s refusal to echo Mr Morrison’s sledging of the NSW commission, saying it was an “extraordinary split”.

The division between the Liberal federal leader and his deputy comes a day after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet rebuked Mr Morrison for undermining trust in the state Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Speaking at a parliamentary hearing earlier this week, ICAC commissioner Stephen Rushton, SC, slammed Mr Morrison’s language and others who criticised the agency, while chief commissioner Peter Hall, QC, labelled the comment “simply wrong” and “misguided” and “unfounded”.

“To those buffoons who have repeatedly described this commission as a kangaroo court, I would say … it is deeply offensive to the hard-working staff of the commission. It undermines the institution,” Mr Rushton said.

When asked about the rebuke on a campaign stopover in the South Australian seat of Boothby, Mr Morrison said he stood by his previous comments and people could say whatever they liked.

“He’s free to disagree with me if he wishes, I just don’t think the model is the right model at the federal level,” he said.

Mr Frydenberg is facing a fierce challenge in his inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong where Climate 200-backed independent Monique Ryan is running on a platform of stronger action on climate change and integrity.

Despite being a blue-ribbon seat since Robert Menzies first held it as a Liberal in 1945, recent polling suggests Mr Frydenberg is at risk of losing. A uComms poll of 847 residents on April 12 found Dr Ryan was leading Mr Frydenberg by an extraordinary 59 to 41 per cent on a two-party basis.