He’s finally stood aside, but Gosling is still a headache for the PM
Northern Territory MP Luke Gosling is the distraction Anthony Albanese doesn’t need. The prospect of a byelection in Solomon is real, and that would be a nightmare for the government.
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling will temporarily step aside from his role as special envoy for defence, veterans affairs and Northern Australia while facing charges of assault and breach of bail. The member for Solomon was recently charged with breaching his bail conditions, just a month after being arrested for two counts of assault.
Mr Gosling's bail restrictions prevented him from being within 50 meters of NT Government House and required him to give David Connolly's office 48 hours notice before attending any event where both men would be present. If they attended the same event, Mr Gosling had to stay 15 meters away from the administrator at all times. Despite categorically denying all allegations, Mr Gosling has decided to stand aside due to the media attention and potential distraction.
The NT administrator's office declined to comment, citing it as a police matter. Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to act, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers supported Mr Gosling's decision to step down.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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