| Usually when a minister's backbench committee opposes or has serious concerns about a plan, it triggers a rethink. |
| Backbench dissidents feared for their political future due to the cavalier actions of some ministers. |
| The whip passes on to the party leadership the opinions of backbench members. |
| Labor leader Kim Beazley initially opposed the private members' bills proposed by the backbench Liberals. |
| He appealed to the backbench country gentlemen, whose prejudices he shared. |
| Tuesday it was Lindsay Tanner's turn to spit the dummy and head for the backbench. |
