A mess that began with Angus Taylor's idiocy has turned into a disaster over Scott Morrison's judgment.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
But the government's problems are now much bigger than the police investigation into Taylor and his office over claims of forgery in his attack on City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore.
Taylor claimed Moore and nine other councillors spent $15 million in a single year on travel,a ludicrous figure he based on a document the city insists was never on its website.
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This was foolishness. It was an unnecessary attack on a city mayor by a cabinet minister who is supposed to have more important things to do.
If the government believed in the traditional rules of accountability,Taylor would have stepped aside on Tuesday when NSW Police confirmed their investigation into the affair.
Morrison now has cause to regret not asking his minister to take time out. Keeping Taylor in the job meant having to defend him in Parliament. Forced to defend him,Morrison made things worse.
This is a tactical victory for Labor leader Anthony Albanese and vindicates the decision to turn the pressure from the minister to the Prime Minister.