Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie gave the government an almighty spray during a searing speech in the Senate on Monday, claiming the Prime Minister was taking Australians for "morons" over the sports rorts affair.
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It was the first time the senator has had the opportunity to respond since the summer break, when the Auditor-General revealed allegations of pork barrelling in the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program.
Despite the scathing Auditor-General's report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked for a report from the office of Prime Minister and Cabinet into whether parliamentary standards had been breached. The report - written by Mr Morrison's former chief of staff Phil Gaetjens - found they had not, and was not released to the public.
Senator Lambie described the government's response to the affair as "shameful".
"Does he take us all for morons, does he? Does he take millions of Australians out there for absolute morons?" she told the Senate.
"The Auditor-General is going up against the PM's mate. And apparently we should trust the PM when he says the report shows there's nothing to see here.
"But he doesn't have the guts to show that report here, and show it to millions of Australians that want to see that report.
"We've seen the evidence, we've seen the spreadsheets, we know what you've been up to. At least have the courage, the spine, to release the PMC report so that the Australian people can make up their own minds about why the PM's buddy would disagree with the Auditor-General."
Senator Lambie's disgust at the affair could be a handbrake on the government's negotiations as it attempts to gain her crucial vote on its union-busting bill.
She has previously said she would not support the bill if it did not exempt nurses, firefighters and police.
