Australian government's advantage in parliament at risk

  The slim majority that Australia's coalition government holds in the House of Representatives could be at risk if maverick Nationals MP George Christensen leaves the coalition "tent" to join a breakaway far-right group, local media reported on Thursday.

Christensen took to social media on Thursday to share his thoughts on whispers that outspoken Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi was gearing up for mutiny - in which he would leave the coalition to focus on a breakaway conservative movement.

In July, Bernardi created the Australian Conservatives website, aimed at making "the Liberal Party stronger", but colleagues have voiced concerns he may ditch the coalition to form an official far-right, political party.

On Thursday, Christensen hinted he will take the Christmas break to decide on his future, after he was told to "pull the pin" on the Liberal Party - something which would result in the government losing its slim majority in the House of Representatives.

"With satisfaction with democracy at an all-time low in this country, I really do hope that 2017 heralds a new way of doing things for the Turnbull government and for politics in general," Christensen wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

"A lot of people have told me to pull the pin on the government and go with another entity, however, I am loyal to... members who selected me to be their candidate.

"What the Turnbull government needs to do is start being more loyal to the voters and the party members who sent us here, or there will come a time when remaining inside the tent is no longer tenable to my conscience or my voters."

Following Donald Trump's conservative-led victory in the United States' Presidential election, Bernardi hinted that he would defect from the Liberal Party, saying that he has to "be a part of that change, perhaps even in some way be a catalyst for it".

source: Xinhua