By Luke Voogt
Lara MP John Eren has denied assaulting Labor factional boss Adem Somyurek amid allegations of a serious altercation on Wednesday night.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy grilled the Tourism Minister in Parliament yesterday, demanding he apologise to Mr Somyurek and parliamentary staff for his “appalling behaviour”.
Mr Eren refused, saying it would be “totally inappropriate” to comment while parliament’s presiding officer investigated the incident.
In a supplementary question Mr Guy asked Mr Eren how much he had drunk before he “allegedly assaulted“ his colleague.
“I absolutely refute the allegations that have been made by the leader of the opposition,” Mr Eren responded.
“I’ve got nothing further to add and I refer to the initial answer that I gave you earlier, speaker.”
Earlier in question time Mr Guy demanded that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews stand Mr Eren down.
“Premier, have you asked your Minister for Sport, former boxer John Eren how much … ” Mr Guy began before speaker Colin Brooks cut him off.
The opposition leader was referring to Mr Eren boxing as a teenager.
Mr Guy rephrased the question, asking whether Mr Eren had been drinking and for how long before the incident.
But Mr Andrews refused to comment on the incident while it was under investigation.
“The leader of the opposition draws conclusions, makes imputations and inferences,” Mr Andrews said.
The altercation between Mr Eren and Mr Somyurek took place at Strangers, a private cafe and bar for MPs, about 8:30pm Wednesday.
Mr Eren told colleagues he felt that Mr Somyurek intimidated and threatened him during the confrontation, according to reports in The Age.
The incident reportedly left Mr Eren badly shaken.
Mr Mr Somyurek denied an altercation took place, instead describing the incident as a robust discussion.
“It didn’t happen. They were about a metre-and-a-half apart talking in Turkish through gritted teeth,“ The Age reported a bystander as saying.
Mr Somyurek stood down from his role as Small Business Minister in May 2015 following allegations he intimidated a female staffer.
He resigned his ministerial roles on 28 July 2015 after the secretary of the department of premier and cabinet handed down a report on the incident.
The dispute comes as Mr Somyurek leads a push to realign key factions in an arrangement that could undermine the authority of Mr Andrews and some of his allies.
Mr Eren did not answer the Indy’s phone calls on Thursday.
A spokesperson said he would not comment.
In September 2016 Mr Eren underwent surgery to insert a stent after suffering a heart attack on Father’s Day.
