Category: Parliament

Parliament

Climate 200: inside the fight to control climate agenda in parliament
Rebekha Sharkie, Dave Sharma Zali Steggall

“People are seeing that there’s a fundamental disconnect between what the electorate wants and what their representative is doing in parliament,” she said. “It’s not enough to look at what they do in the electorate — Tony Abbott was a volunteer at the local surf club. We think that it’s the MP’s voting record that they need to be judged on.” And how will these electorates fare at the next federal election? As retired independent politician Tony Windsor is fond of saying, “the world is run by the people who turn up”. All across the country, Australians who have never been part of a political party are turning up, and finding their voice.

Climate 200: inside the fight to control climate agenda in parliament
Parliament, Uncategorized

Parliament is no more diverse now than it was in 1988 as political staffer ranks explode

A new study of parliamentary records shows teachers – the most common route into federal politics three decades ago – have been replaced by political operatives, with up to 40 per cent of all MPs and 50 per cent of all Labor representatives now hailing from backgrounds as political staffers.

Only one side of politics, Labor, has made any real progress on female representation, but overall only a third of federal MPs are women – compared to 51 per cent of the population. The Nationals have only added one female MP in 30 years.

Culturally and ethnically, Parliament is in a time warp. Since 1988, the proportion of Australians born overseas has risen from 22 per cent to 33 per cent, but their representation in Parliament has stalled at 11 per cent.

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via Parliament is no more diverse now than it was in 1988 as political staffer ranks explode

Parliament

Scott Morrison denies cabinet tensions – politics live. When their lips move we know their lying!! Politics live. 23/10/14

The Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison during question time this afternoon in the House of Representatives chamber of Parliament House, Canberra, Thursday 23rd October 2014

The immigration minister Scott Morrison was forced to hose down reports he was getting too big for his boots and executing grabs in other portfolios. Such reports were false, he said. The thing about whispering campaigns is they only take off if there’s some fire under the smoke. Curious how every leadership contender eventually gets undermined by a whispering campaign. First Hockey, now Morrison.

Ebola was the other big issue of the day. It emerged that both the United States and the United Kingdom have requested that the Abbott government send health teams to West Africa – but the prime minister still seems cool about the idea, arguing that Australians can’t be deployed until he’s certain they can be kept safe.

There’s been an exchange on renewables. Labor wants to know why the government is intent on gutting the RET. Abbott wants to know why Labor won’t support the real 20%. The prime minister says the RET needs to be adjusted to protect jobs. (Adjusted is always a nicer word than cut, right?)