Coalition MPs are battling to deliver their messages about lawlessness in the construction union and the cost of living as Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s demand that the prime minister apologise for wearing a Joy Division band shirt vacuums up attention.

Liberals and Nationals distanced themselves from the attack launched by their leader in a speech to parliament on Tuesday, in which Ley criticised Anthony Albanese’s decision to wear merchandise from an acclaimed 1970s band whose name she claimed had antisemitic connotations.

Coalition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson held a press conference on Wednesday about allegations that building firms were paying to secure peace with the scandal-ridden CFMEU , but was repeatedly questioned about Ley’s judgment.

The member for Goldstein

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