Sydney
New South Wales Treasury Secretary Matt Keane rules out leadership drain after Dominic Perrotet’s Nazi uniform scandal
Key Point
- Treasurer Matt Keane said he did not intend to challenge the prime minister and said the government was ready to pull itself out of the scandal.
- Perrottet’s colleagues backed him up, with Roads Minister Natalie Ward saying the case did not represent a man she knew.
- Labor leader Chris Mings has not asked his rivals to resign.
New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrotet will not be overthrown by a major leader rival after he was exposed wearing a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party.
Treasury Secretary and Liberal Party deputy leader Matt Keene said on Monday that he would not challenge the prime minister and that the government was ready to pull itself out of the scandal.
“I am one of (the prime minister’s) most loyal and ardent supporters,” Keane told Nine’s Today Show.
“What we want to see is Don Perrotet leading the Liberal Party into the election and beyond.
“That’s about to happen.”
Perrotet last week admitted to wearing a Nazi uniform until the age of 21 and apologized repeatedly.
He will face Cabinet colleagues on Monday at his first party room meeting since he revealed the costume scandal.
Keane also lashed out at an anonymous Liberal Party source who claimed a photo of Perrotet in Nazi costume was circulating, and told 2GB that he did not believe the image existed.
“The people who did this are horrible cowards. They should come out of the swamp they live in,” he said.
Meanwhile, the New South Wales minority leader embarked on the controversy and referred Mr Perrotet to police to see if his pre-election declarations in 2010 violated the law.
Robert Borsak, leader of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, said on Sunday that he believed Perrotett may have violated oath laws by failing to disclose the costume incident in his statutory declaration to the Liberal Party 13 years ago. .
It is not publicly known whether Mr. Perrotet did not declare the now controversial case, as the relevant documents remain classified.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said, “The prime minister apologized for making a terrible mistake on his 21st birthday. This is nothing more than a stunt.”
Borsak also hopes to use his position on Parliament’s Public Accountability Committee to investigate Perrotet’s suitability to become prime minister.
But this seems doomed to failure, with Mr Borsak outnumbering MPs from the major parties, including Labor, and they are unlikely to support the push.
Perrottet on Sunday tried to put the incident behind him, saying it did not reflect who he is now.
His colleagues had gathered around him, and Roads Minister Natalie Ward said the incident did not represent the man she knew.
Mr. Borsak is controversial in parliament.
In September, he suggested that independent MP and former party member Helen Dalton be “on record.”
This led to the resignation of two parliamentarians after Borsak refused to apologize or resign for his comments.
Labor leader Chris Mins, who faces the prime minister in March’s state elections, is not asking his rivals to resign.
On Tuesday, he said 2GB Perrottet made a mistake and his apology seemed genuine.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/nsw-treasurer-matt-kean-rules-out-leadership-spill-after-dominic-perrottets-nazi-uniform-scandal/nnlh84qh7 New South Wales Treasury Secretary Matt Keane rules out leadership drain after Dominic Perrotet’s Nazi uniform scandal