Australian politicians seem to be alone in shirking their duties by not showing up to parliament for the next few months, ostensibly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Parliamentary Library, in something of an implied rebuke of the government, last week posted a short paper noting which parliaments had suspended sittings. It found that parliamentarians in the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand would all be returning to parliament later this month or, in the case of Congress, hadn’t altered its sitting plan at all.
In Australia, every parliament except those of South Australia and Western Australia have adjourned until later in the year, or indefinitely.
Labor opposed the suspension of federal parliament until August, and Anthony Albanese has this week ramped up his criticism of the government’s decision, pointing out parliament “wasn’t suspended during the Spanish flu, or World War I or World War II”.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus went further, saying “the parliament gave the government its extraordinary powers to respond to the current public health crisis. It is absurd and dangerous to suggest that the parliament now has no role in ensuring that these emergency powers are being exercised in the best interests of their constituents and of our nation”.
Dreyfus quoted the UK Tory government’s Commons leader, the hard-right Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said of the Commons “parliament’s role of scrutinising government, authorising spending and making laws must be fulfilled”.
The suspension of parliament plainly suits Scott Morrison. From the beginning of his time as a minister, Morrison has consistently demonstrated a thin skin and a deep aversion to any kind of scrutiny, whether from the media or from parliament.
Even his regular media briefings during the pandemic response have been marked by an ill-tempered hostility to journalists. The prime minister appears to regard questioning of his actions or attempts to elicit information as a personal insult.
But Morrison is hardly alone, and this is hardly a partisan issue. Victoria’s Daniel Andrews, who has pushed his government’s draconian lockdown demands to nonsensical lengths, has gone even further than Morrison and suspended parliament indefinitely, a move criticised by Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien as “extraordinary”.
The Palaszczuk Labor government in Queensland has similarly stopped sitting until further notice. Gladys Berejiklian won’t return to NSW parliament until September.
At the same time as federal politicians and politicians outside SA and WA are having an extended break to avoid getting infected, they’re asking health workers to put themselves in harm’s way to deal with the impacts of the pandemic. Morrison wants teachers to continue to show up to work, even as his own chief medical officer warns older teachers were at risk. And as Dreyfus notes, there are ways of reducing, if not eliminating, concerns about infection in parliament, through reduced numbers of MPs or greater use of technology.
Why do British politicians, and those of other anglophone countries, feel their parliamentary work is important enough to carry on through the crisis, despite the greater risk of infection even with precautionary measures being taken, when Australians don’t?
The House of Commons has a greater tradition of independence, and an independent speaker, unlike Australian parliaments. Congress is completely separate from the executive. And the Canadian and New Zealand governments are both minority governments, unlike the Morrison, Andrews, Berejiklian and Palaszczuk governments.
Where executives dominate, parliament is evidently seen as an inconvenience, at a time when scrutiny of executive government is more important than ever. The pandemic appears to be an excuse to avoid it as much as possible.
The Film and Arts Industry employees don’t qualify for the JobSeeker package.
They are most likely on daily or weekly contracts because film creation and theatre productions do not last 12 months or more.
A simple question worth asking is: Now parliament is suspended will the Honourable current and retired Members of the Federal Government be taking a pay cut ?
To one journalist’s 2 questions, his reply was a straight out NO to discontinue “Franking Credits” and then the usual amount of blowhard waffle to not even go anywhere near answering the reduction in payment to politicians during this crisis. Once again it was left hanging and not taken up by the next reporter’s question, or the next or the next until he answer’s it. What on earth do reporters do for a living these days?
Well reported Bernard and I have to quote from your article:
“From the beginning of his time as a minister, Morrison has consistently demonstrated a thin skin and a deep aversion to any kind of scrutiny, whether from the media or from parliament. Even his regular media briefings during the pandemic response have been marked by an ill-tempered hostility to journalists. The prime minister appears to regard questioning of his actions or attempts to elicit information as a personal insult.”
“What on earth do reporters do for a living these days ?”… It can be a very expensive enterprise, living with/for middle class aspirational property port folio investments ,private school fees ,orthodontics ,etc, etc … overheads/debts ..Some questions are just in the can’t afford to be asked basket, if you want to continue & get ahead in the professional calling of being a reporter….Having another job/income/source of wealth might help. Even that could involve commercial in confidence clash of interests ..It’s a sad reporter that’s been dropped from, or turned on by, the press pack..
Well said that ostrich.
How about something on the medias coverage of the bastards given they’ve buggered off on holidays?
Well said Bernard. Morrison and the other grubs must be thinking all their Christmases have come at once. Like the cockroaches they are they thrive in the darkness and abhor the bright light of accountability and transparency.
Morrison is a fraud and only ever looks to do whatever will likely further his desire for power. For example he speaks of how we are all in this together. Well where is the parliament to be found in this moment of crisis. Where are the representatives of the people charged with ensuring government policy is in the interests of all, especially the most vulnerable. Compared to our true front line heroes these MIA people’s representatives are a disgrace.
But then again to Morrison the parliament is the enemy as much as is the virus. As Bernard and other writers have noted you only had to watch Morrison squirm under repeated questioning over the sport’s rort affair and observe his growing anger at being forced to explain himself (read here) appear to be accountable and transparent, to see this. Such is the arrogance of the man that any vestige of accountably/ transparency is anathema much like light is to cockroaches
The executive right to set parliamentary sitting dates is a fundamental weakness of the Westminster system, although in this case there would have been a scheduled winter break.
Nevertheless, one can adapt a Thatcher saying to argue that governments like to deny Opoositions the oxygen of publicity.
Exactly right re denying the Opposition oxygen. Morrison has seen Trump’s daily doses of drivel and likes what he sees – it’s all about me, I’m leading, I’ll fix it, I’m the man.
I imagine the rationale for parliament not sitting is all the many other people that involves milling about. There must be at least five total staff in the parliament for every MP.
What if most of them kept working from home and let the MPs stay separate in the house ? Add a few tweaks to distance the MPs from each other.
Or just keep them warehoused on Jobkeeper allowance. That prospect may inspire resolve.
Having worked for many years in the public service (Health) there is so much technology available for videoconferencing and teleconferencing that the country could even be run if everyone involved stayed home. But could the reporters be linked in – on a “pool” arrangement perhaps? Scrutiny. accuracy and accountability are paramount. It might even be possible for it to be broadcast using Australian “agility and innovation”.
It’s absolutely essential for the reporters to make the Government accountable. The very idea that Parliament won’t be sitting until August, after the Coalition also closed Parliament abruptly in late 2018, is anathema – or should be – in a democracy such as ours.
That is exactly what this fake ‘national cabinet’ is all about. ….Morrison is able to make statements taking credit for what the States are doing; and he is able to shift blame to them when it suits him. Of-course, he takes no responsibility (like his mate Trump) for fails of the federal government (borders quarantine) & we won’t know for years if his stimulus package worked or was just a smokescreen to transfer money to his mates/sponsors/donors in accordance with his religious beliefs.
Oops, Mark, my comment was for the previous post. But while I’m here, why can’t parliament sit on-line with the Members and Senators participating either from home or their electoral offices. They have exceptionally good IT compared to the rest of us.