The farcical situation last week that saw the Turnbull government lose control of parliament was highly embarrassing for Malcolm Turnbull, Christopher Pyne, and of course for the Coalition MP’s who decided to knock of early.

Unfortunately for the Labor Party, they were not able to take full advantage of the self-granted early marks and gain a Banking Royal Commission as they attempted twice. Unfortunately even with the absent Liberals, Labor found itself a couple of votes shy of being able to carry a vote for the Commission.

So what votes were missing?

Independent MP Cathy McGowan had left the building and was unavailable to vote, and the Greens Adam Bandt had decided he had better things to do other than represent his electorate and had left also.

Now I know that spending two whole days working in Canberra must be quite a chore and the prospect of sneaking off early may be tempting, but Greens voters should expect more from the Party’s sole member of the House Of Representatives.

Who did he vote for last time I wonder?

A motion calling for a Banking Royal Commission has earlier passed the Senate, where Bandt’s colleagues had stopped their infighting temporarily to vote in favour of Labor’s call for a Commission into the  financial sector. Given this you would think that Bandt may have put the effort in to stay at least until the House had adjourned for the day.

If the Greens ever wish to be taken seriously as a political party they need to show that they are prepared to at least hang around to vote. When the Greens talk in the future about the Liberals opposing calls for a Banking Royal Commission it will be hypocrisy of the highest order as we may indeed be planning one if Bandt had bothered to show up.

As further details emerge of the catastrophe unfolding within the Greens Party’s largest state branch, the NSW branch, Greens voters must be wondering what they are really supporting.

The NSW Branch has been called undemocratic and unruly and that’s by its own membership. They are a party that has factional rivalry so fierce and bitter the Party with only a handful of MP’s can’t even choose a leader amongst themselves. The NSW branch is so secretive that it is starting to resemble the Masons, secret handshakes and all. With Supreme Court action pending and factional battles heating up, the Greens NSW now find themselves leaking like a colander.

Adam Bandt in not bothering to take part in what he was elected to do has shown his arrogance and displayed utter contempt for not just his electorate, but every Greens voter.

With all of this ugliness gracing our television screens and timelines, having a smug MP not showing up for crucial votes in parliament is not a good look at all.

I approached Adam Bandt via email for comment several days ago, as of yet his office has failed to respond. Maybe they clocked off early?

The Greens ran their federal election campaign under the slogan

“Standing up for what matters”

What really matters is showing up…