POLITICAL gestures have embroiled Frankston Labor MP Paul Edbrooke in controversy for the second time in as many months in Victoria’s Parliament.
Mr Edbrooke was accused by Liberal MP Ryan Smith of making “a threatening gesture to me across the chamber” during a debate last Wednesday (18 March) about teachers’ performance in state schools.
The member for Frankston denied the allegation in the House and the Speaker, Telmo Languiller, said he would review the video of proceedings before reporting back to Parliament.
When contacted by The Times Mr Edbrooke denied he made a threatening gesture and said he and his Labor colleagues had been “scoring them [the opposition] on their points of order” and he had held up “three fingers”.
“The Liberal government is still suffering from the embarrassment of their last four years in Frankston, and have nothing to offer of any substance, just cheap shots designed to take the focus off the rapid progress that is taking place under an Andrews Labor government,” Mr Edbrooke said.
Last month Liberal MP Christine Fyffe claimed Mr Edbrooke has made an “offensive and intimidating gesture” during question time.
Mr Edbrooke had merely made a “no deal” sign as featured in TV show Deal Or No Deal and ‘withdrew’ the gesture at the Speaker’s request.
The first-term MP, who won the seat of Frankston by a razor-thin 0.9 per cent margin in November, brushed off the latest political stoush.
“I will continue working night and day to ensure that Frankston has the best representation possible in parliament,” he said.
First published in the Frankston Times
