Nettle does another excellent speech which summarises the issues surrounding legislation for covert search and seizures by the Australian Federal Police [pdf]. It should be noted that Australian Democrats and Labor had issues with this component of the legislation. Nettle's speech is a reply to Stott Despoja's speech announcing the Democrats oppose that part of the legislation. (more)
Kerry Nettle made a speech in the Senate on the citizenship test legislation [pdf] which has been tabled. Nettle was a part of the Senate inquiry into the test consequently his a speech is a good summary of the findings - basically there is little need or value in it. (more)
Klaas Worldring has an article in Crikey on removing the major parties from the Senate. It carries the blurb of removing "the two party tyranny". I don't subscribe to crikey and that article is behind a paywall. I thought it may be an editorial headline, but Worldring has been active on Online Opinion and he has an article titled: Two party tyranny. (more)
At present the Prime Minister enjoys unprecedented power of the House and the Senate. He does this not just through party membership, but by enforcing party discipline through the carrot and stick relationship all members of the Liberal have with their leaders power over patronage.
(Members of the Labor party have a similar relationship with the party through caucus and their faction, but not with the leader as such).
I want to see the Senate freed from the Prime Ministers patronage.
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Who dare mention them? Andrew Bartlett does in an adjournment speech in the Senate. Andrew questions the inflationary nature of these policies [pdf] on housing prices.
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There was an interesting debate in the Senate on October 16th between Andrew Murray, Chris Evans and Eric Abetz. It pretty much represents all that was good and bad with the Senate. Andrew Murray argued for discrete budgeting, line by line, in parliamentary entitlements which is covered in sections of the Remuneration Tribunal Act. He did so in the interests of greater transparency and ease of auditing.
The fact is that each individual item we are entitled to spend as part of our allocations for doing our jobs is discrete and separate. So this is a principle whereby one which has been traditionally always been separate is to be used in aggregation, if there is a carry-over amount, with another. That is a new principle, and one which I would challenge in this circumstance because, unless we move to the holistic approach of a macro budget, I think it is far preferable to keep things separate.(more)
Senator Andrew Bartlett has an article on
why Judges should not be elected
. Andrew suggests that a judicature sensitive to re-election will perform for a majority, with the goal of re-election, at the expense of minority rights. Andrew also points out the problem of political donations polluting the judicial process. The idea of an elected judicial brings into tension the balance between specialist, representative and crowd wisdom.
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I have been enjoying Barnaby Joyce simply because he carries his inner-debate between representing his conscience, his state, his party and the coalition government so publicly. Joyce had predominantly voted with the coalition and has been notable more for the few times he has dissented, however, he delivered a very independent minded speech last month to the Law Institute of Victoria;
Crossing the floor: Political Hero or Renegade?
The sensationalist title aside, it contains a good insight into Joyce's view of what democracy should be.
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How do you enforce checks and balances in a parliamentary system?
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I received my postal vote a few days ago. I must say I felt a rush of pride when I opened the envelope and unfolded the Senate paper across the length of the table. There are 50 candidates on the list, and in Australian elections you can list them in the order you choose. I always number every box for the Senate. That, my friends, is representative democracy.
Having the leisure of an internet connection this year, and being happily free of thugs intimidating me to vote a certain way, I decided to drill down a little further than usual. In extravagant detail, even. Who are these people, anyway? (more)
