THE federal Coalition faces the prospect of being down an MP when Parliament resumes next month with the member for Indi Sophie Mirabella undergoing knee surgery next week.
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The Liberal MP ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament about a month ago during a family skiing trip to Mount Hotham and is due to undergo surgery on Thursday.
Mrs Mirabella said the painful injury saw her carted off the slopes during her first snow holidays in years.
Her spokesman Adam Wyldeck said it was unclear whether the recovery would force the opposition frontbencher to miss the resumption of Parliament on September 10.
“We’ll take the advice of the surgeon and if leave is required Sophie will apply for leave,” he said.
With the Parliament tightly balanced, Mr Wyldeck said the Coalition would rely on Labor granting “a pair” to cover Mrs Mirabella’s absence when it came to parliamentary votes.
“I couldn’t imagine that the Labor government wouldn’t grant her a pair in those circumstances but it’s uncharted waters, this is a hung parliament so you never know,” Mr Wyldeck said.
