How a pear-shaped pair have exposed fissures within the SA Liberal Party

The trip was unexpected, unwanted and ultimately unnecessary.

At around 9:30 on Wednesday evening, a frantic South Australian Liberal MP grabbed an Uber and made a last-minute trip to Parliament.

Michelle Lensink was scheduled to take a medical leave of absence during her breast cancer treatment.

But just hours after Parliament officially approved her vacation, the Upper House MP rushed back to the Legislative Council chamber.

“Tonight was a wild ride that had nothing to do with the Uber drivers,” Ms. Lensink later posted on the social media platform X, along with a screenshot of three Uber receipts totaling $41.15. Dollar.

Mating paralysis

The “wild ride” was actually triggered by a breach of the agreement ahead of a vote on proposed changes to South Africa’s abortion laws.

The changes were introduced by Conservative Liberal MP Ben Hood.

Mr. Hood’s private member’s bill, which was ultimately defeated by a vote of 10 to 9, would have required women seeking abortions after 27 weeks and six days to give birth to their children alive.

Ms Lensink, a moderate Liberal, had been instrumental in the decriminalization of abortion in South Africa in 2021 as a then-minister under the former Marshall Liberal government.

She had previously described Mr Hood’s bill as “one of the worst pieces of legislation” she had ever seen, but was ultimately the only Liberal MP in the upper house to object to the proposed changes.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Ms Lensink sent an email to upper house MPs formally declaring her opposition to Mr Hood’s bill.

The email said Liberal MP Jing Lee, who voted against the 2021 laws decriminalizing abortion and supported Mr Hood’s bill, had agreed to abstain from voting to balance the numbers.

The couple’s agreement was considered crucial as the vote was expected to be close.

But as the debate was underway on Wednesday evening, Ms Lee broke the agreement.

Their decision to do so brought the count to a deadlock and raised the prospect that Conservative Liberal and House of Lords Speaker Terry Stephens would have the deciding say on whether Mr Hood’s proposed changes would pass second reading .

“Boggles the mind”

To understand the events that led to Ms Lee’s decision, one needs to think about the current makeup of the SA Liberal Party.

It has been widely reported that the party’s conservative right-wing faction has increasingly gained control of moderate forces, from the sub-party level all the way up to the state government.

The right-wing bloc of votes was key to Vincent Tarzia succeeding former opposition leader David Speirs in August.

Some liberal figures have previously suggested to ABC News that the leadership change has emboldened the right to push for abortion reforms because the caucus was unhappy with the way the issue was handled during the Marshall-led administration.

Although the group has not yet fully gained control of the state parliament team, it is expected to influence the preselection of parties.

Ms Lee is the only moderate Liberal standing for re-election to the upper house at the next state election in 2026.

South African Labor Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas said on Thursday Mr Hood’s bill was an attempt by the right-wing faction to intimidate moderate Liberals ahead of the pre-selection process.

“The victim was a Liberal MP who had gone home to deal with her own illness in the form of breast cancer.

“It boggles the mind.”

But Mr Hood has previously denied the bill was politically motivated.

“For me this is not a political matter. It’s about doing what’s right and what’s just,” he said Monday.

“Goal number one”

Ms Lensink did not blame Ms Lee, but told ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday that walking away from mating arrangements happened “from time to time”.

“She [Ms Lee] “Maybe she thought about it and decided she didn’t want to do it,” she said.

“I don’t have a problem with that.”

Ms. Lee did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Ms Lensink said after Ms Lee backed out of the deal she understood One Nation MP Sarah Game would be her match instead.

But Ms Lensink said Ms Game had not honored the couple.

“The problem I have is people won’t tell me what they’re doing and are playing funny games on the ground with a vote that doesn’t actually make any progress, so it’s all very contentious,” she said.

In response, Ms Game said: “There was probably a period of a few minutes where she [Ms Lensink] thought I would be open to mating with her.”

“If it is a vote of conscience, you cannot rely on anyone else being willing to give up their vote.

“My conscience is clear”

Whether or not Ms. Lensink prioritized party loyalty over personal frustrations, the pairing issue was eventually resolved when Conservative Liberal Dennis Hood agreed at the last minute to abstain.

Mr. Hood said he agreed to the agreement because Ms. Lensink had done the same for him when he was undergoing cancer treatment during an earlier debate on a sex work laws bill, and he had promised to return the favor.

According to Mr Hood, the bill “would have failed anyway” regardless of his decision to grant Ms Lensink a pair.

“The truth is that when I spoke to Michelle, she was so anxious to vote on the bill that she was actually in an Uber on the way to Parliament so she could vote against the bill at third reading. “,” he said.

“The result is the same and my conscience is clear.”

After almost three hours of debate and a final vote, one person was caught saying into Parliament’s microphones: “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The comment summed up the mood at the end of the night.