Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says former prime minister Julia Gillard effectively offered him the Tasmanian seat of Denison “for keeps” in exchange for his loyalty and a backdown on poker machine reform.
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In an essay published in the quarterly magazine Island on Wednesday, Mr Wilkie describes a “curious twist” in his dealings with the former government when, in mid-2011, Ms Gillard asked if he wanted to be the Labor Party's candidate for Denison at the 2013 election.
Mr Wilkie says the former prime minister offered two other alternatives for his future – the chance to run in Denison with no Labor candidate pitted against him, or the status quo.
At the time, the independent MP had been threatening to withdraw his support for the government if it reneged on a deal on poker machine reform.
“In essence, she said Andrew, we need to discuss your future,” Mr Wilkie said in an interview with Fairfax Media on Wednesday.
“She laid out some possibilities for my future.
“One was that I would be the Labor member for Denison.
“Another possibility was that the Labor party would not run a candidate against me, or no change.
“She was offering these things but it hardly needs to be said that it would be in return for my loyalty.
“It wasn't explicitly a deal but it was left unsaid what would be needed in return.”
Mr Wilkie said he took the exchange as an offer of safety in his seat of Denison “if I rolled over on poker reform”.
Mr Wilkie, who went on withdrew his support for the government in January 2012, said he gave an unambiguous response in his next weekly meeting with the prime minister.
“I just said thank you for raising these possibilities but I'm taking my chances at the next election,” he said.
“I wasn't going to be bought off.
“It was clearly an attempt to shut down the poker reform and I wasn't going to be bought off in that way.
“It does highlight the lengths the Labor Party and the prime minister were prepared to go to in that parliament to deal with the challenges they had.
“They needed to deal with this uncertainty about me.
“They didn't deliver on the [poker reform] deal and I did withdraw my support…so their concern was warranted.”
A spokesman for Ms Gillard declined to comment.
