Category: Australian Parliament

Australian Parliament

Rex Patrick: has the Australian Senate lost its mojo? – Michael West

 

Senate. Rex Patrick“Powerful” or “piss-weak”? The Senate has greater powers than a royal commission yet in recent years its authority has declined amid refusals by the likes of the Defence Department, the Tax Commissioner and the government itself to cooperate with Senate orders. Former senator Rex Patrick on responsible government.

Mojo lost

We often hear people call for a royal commission to get to the bottom of something. This is a strange call for two reasons. 

Firstly, a royal commission is established by letters patent issued by the governor-general on the advice of government. Royal commissions are always for investigations in which the government is interested, not the people.

Secondly, the Senate has greater powers than a royal commission.

People either subconsciously or consciously turn away from the Senate because they know it is weak. They know it has lost its mojo. And governments and bureaucrats know this better than anyone. So, it’s a vicious cycle in which the authority and power of the Senate continues to decline.

Its weakness is not the fault of the government and it’s not the fault of the Senate staff who do their best to support inquiries. It is exclusively the fault of senators.

The powers of the Senate have been established by convention. Unexercised, those conventions will turn into points of interest for historians. That would be a tragedy, because securing accountability of government is the very essence of responsible government.

Source: Rex Patrick: has the Australian Senate lost its mojo? – Michael West

Australian Parliament

Parliament faces a new year but it’s still the same old circus

Yes, the conservative “carnies” are starting the year on an upbeat note. A far cry from last time when they strapped ringmaster Turnbull to the “Wheel of Death”, where a conga line of human cannonballs took turns firing themselves at him as he spun, faster and faster to the right.

via Parliament faces a new year but it’s still the same old circus

Australian Parliament

Mrs Bishop has now kicked out 309 MPs — 304 from Labor — in 15 months; No bias here all according to Hoyles LNP weren’t in attendance. Nor any embarassment on Bronwyn’s part. She has redefined the notion of speaker even sits in on cabinet meetings.

Mark Dreyfus leaves Question Time after being ejected.

Mark Dreyfus leaves Question Time after being ejected. Source: News Corp Australia

NO-NONSENSE Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has already broken through a very large barrier – she has ejected more than 300 Labor MPs from Parliament.

Today she marked the impressive tally by turfing out a Labor shadow minister for 24 hours after a bitter clash over her handling of the chamber.

It was a rowdy afternoon, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott telling Question Time he had not promised Japan the multi-billion contract for 12 submarines which shipbuilders in Adelaide are chasing.

Here we can see Mr Dreyfus listening intently to Mrs Bishop. It was about to turn sour.

Here we can see Mr Dreyfus listening intently to Mrs Bishop. It was about to turn sour. Source: News Corp Australia

Mrs Bishop kicked out Labor frontbenchers Anthony Albanese and Mark Dreyfus today, to reach a total of 309 MPs removed since she became Speaker on November 12, 2013. Of that total, 304 were Labor MPs and five were from the Coalition.

She throws them out, usually for an hour, as punishment for actions she believes breach standing orders, usually loud interjections.

But in addition today, Mr Dreyfus was “named” and booted out for 24 hours today after he objected to being removed for one hour and clashed with the Speaker.

Mr Dreyfus leaves the chamber after being named by Mrs Bishop.

Mr Dreyfus leaves the chamber after being named by Mrs Bishop. Source: News Corp Australia

He had been objecting to a large sheet of paper being waved by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who was accusing her Labor counterpart Tanya Plibersek of believing Africa was a country.

“As an audition for a first year uni revue, Julie Bishop was great. As an audition for the Prime Ministership she was empty and pathetic,” tweeted Labor’s Tim Watts.

But Speaker Bishop had the last word.

Usually Speakers, including the current one, act quickly to stop MPs using “props” in Parliament. But this time Mrs Bishop didn’t intervene and even refused to recognise Labor protests.

That angered Mr Dreyfus, who was originally ejected by the Speaker for one hour, but the penalty was raised to 24 hours after he pointed a rolled up document and berated the Speaker as he moved to the exit door next to her chair.

Question Time in Reps

Bye Mark. Source: News Corp Australia