Three retiring MPs from across politics, John Alexander, Nicolle Flint and Joel Fitzgibbon, have used their valedictory addresses to air their grievances with Parliament. In another sign of the depths to which parliamentary standards have sunk, each MP had a different gripe about the nature of modern politics and the conduct of politicians. Here’s what they had to say.
John Alexander
The Liberal MP has now said he would “seriously consider” crossing the floor if the integrity commission bill was to be raised again, after “missing his chance” when Bridget Archer made the bold move last month. It’s too little too late in this case, with Attorney-General Michaelia Cash confirming the bill won’t be progressed before the election, but his stance is notable. In his valedictory address last week, Alexander lamented the intensely partisan nature of modern Parliament. He said it was “time to stop bashing heads and put heads together” when it came to integrity, and that much of Parliament was “happier to score political points than to get the job done”.
“A properly working parliament requires trust, honesty and integrity. It is clear that our standing in the public has taken a bashing because these key attributes are in question.”
He longed for the days of Robert Menzies and Arthur Calwell, when the two party leaders would meet to move through differences in the hope of progressing issues more efficiently.
“My view is that there’s not enough goodwill and good faith between the parties to engage with each other honestly, set politics aside and actually work on getting something that will serve the Australian people better.”
Nicolle Flint
Flint’s valedictory speech on Wednesday was not the first time the Liberal MP has spoken out on the treatment of women in politics. But this may have been her most scathing assessment yet.
“Women will continue to be attacked, abused, belittled, gossiped about and lied about until we have blanket protection that says it’s an offence to offend, insult, humiliate, and intimidate women,” she told Parliament.
She then turned her particular attention to Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.
“Last March, in response to an emotional speech given by me in this place, the Leader of the Opposition told the press gallery and the Australian people that he would act when sexist and misogynist and dangerous behaviour was drawn to his attention. Well, he hasn’t.”
Joel Fitzgibbon
The veteran Labor MP, who has lately been at odds with his own party, had a bone to pick regarding the standards of debate in Parliament. He urged for reform, especially for question time, and asked if we could “get rid of those stupid Dorothy Dixers”, claiming the pre-prepared questions by government MPs stunted debate.
Fitzgibbon said that during his 25 years in Parliament its standards had gotten “much worse”. Funnily enough, he used his first speech in the House in 1996 to state he would support any reform to improve parliamentary conduct.
“Alas, nothing happened and I’m sad to report what you already know … it’s got much worse in the time I’ve been here,” he said.
“I find that sad. I think it is really important we all work together here to maintain the dignity of the House and, just as importantly, the respect in which it is held by the broader Australian community.”
“It’s very clear that people are losing confidence in the system.”
Nicole Flint was silent when the Liberals and right wing viciously threatened violence towards the sitting ALP Prime Minister Gillard….Flint is a dishonest hypocrite
Whose politicians’ faces (men and women – Truss, Abbott, Mirrabella, Bishop Snr …) were they at the “Ditch the Witch” rally in Canberra (Mar 2011) – in front of that “JuLIAR …. BOB BROWNS BITCH” placard? Members from which party got up at that rally and gave speeches of support for that rally?
Oh Lord, stuck in Limboland again – “Awaiting for approval” – seriously?
Well “Moderator” how about :-
“Whose politicians’ faces (men and women – Truss, Abbott, Mirrabella, Bishop Snr …) were they at the “Ditch the Witch” rally in Canberra (Mar 2011) – in front of that “JuLIAR …. BOB BROWNS B I T C H” placard? Members from which party got up at that rally and gave speeches of support for that rally?
Thank you.
Weirdly, A above has a post AWAITENING -which is visible for some unknown reason.
It is totally reasonable, no naughty words or wicked letter combos., absolutely unexceptionable and which also makes some good points.
Strange are the ways of the MadBot.
Did not hear Flint speaking out for Julia Banks either.
Did you hear the independently affluent Julia Banks speaking out for those men and women bullied by Robodebt?
Or those men and women relying on welfare, treated as they had/ve been by her government – having to rely on a paltry $<40/day? Other than to virtually tell them to shut up and be thankful because she could “live on 40 bucks a day knowing that the government is supporting me with Newstart looking for employment”?
Yes, she’s been complaining a lot on Twitter lately. It’s not that her complaints are unfounded, but if she hasn’t resigned from the Liberal Party, she should S T F U.
A change from public attention on Morrison’s failures.
Fair call.
Now she definitely is a hypocrite
Julia Banks doesn’t know what it is like to be poor.
True, but then again which one of them isn’t
In the two lines above the photos, reference is made to three “minister”. Only one of three (Fitzgibbon) was ever a minister.
Readers should take with a grain of salt Alexander’s idealisation of the Menzies/Calwell relationship. They probably did have perfectly civil dealings in a range of areas, but let’s not forgot that no-one kicked the Communist can more viciously or effectively than Menzies and in two elections, the Labor leader on the end of that Menzies kicking was Arthur Calwell.
Arthur ‘2 Wongs don’t make a White’ Calwell – wonder what he’d make of his party’s Leader in the Senate?
I wonder how todays right wing and Liberal Party would treat Menzies
Menzies was all too conscious that a free-enterprise economy devoid of any social security relief “would tend to destroy the weak, impoverish the poor and reduce the dignity of the individual.”
For this reason, he believed governments had a social responsibility to provide a welfare safety net. NOT the poverty and hateful vitriol we see todays Liberals advocating and supporting
Penny Wong is not Chinese. Her father is Malaysian and her mother Australian. She was brought up by her mother in Adelaide from the age of 8 when her parents separated. Her mother’s family were among the founding settlers of South Australia so he might find it rather confusing if he tried to tell her to go back where she came from …
Caldwell used the name White – not the race white – hence the capital letter in (W)hite
The Han have a different concept of tribe – Ms. Wong’s father’s surname is a big hint – she was born in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, to Jane (née Chapman), an Australian, and Francis Wong, a Malaysian of Hakka origin.The Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, are a Han Chinese subgroup, chiefly in provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Hainan, Guizhou and the island of Taiwan. The Chinese characters for Hakka literally mean “guest families”..
Well he was 100% correct when he responded to The Menzies Governments military commitment to South Vietnam. Read it you might learn something.
Having been part of that stonewall against a federal ICAC for so long – Alexander now wants it to crumble, as he’s bailing out?
Alexander is my local member and he’s been nothing but a seat warmer in parliament. He was front and Centre laughing loudly and participating while Abbott attacked Julia Gillard in HOR.
Menzies would be condemned as a “lefty socialist bleeding heart commie’ by todays right wing and Liberal Party
With respect to “Freedom from Want” Menzies stated:
“The country has great and imperative obligations to the weak, the sick, the unfortunate. It must give to them all the sustenance and support it can. We look forward to social and unemployment insurances, to improved health services, to a wiser con trol of our economy to avert if possible all booms and slumps which tend to convert labour into a commodity, to a better distribution of wealth, to a keener sense of social justice and social responsibility. We not only look forward to these things; we shall demand and obtain them. To every good citizen the State owes not only a chance in life but a self-respecting life.”
“The purpose of all measures of social security,” he said, “ is not only to provide citizens with some reasonable protection against misfortune but also to reconcile that provision with their proud independence and dignity as democratic citizens. The time has gone when social justice should even appear to take the form of social charity.”
Wow! So that’s how it was when Liberals were liberal. No mention of lifters and leaners or robodebt or scroungers.
The person cleaning the shithouses at the Vincent de Paul hostel has more dignity than Morrison and Dutton.
He was also a strong supporter of universities.
Yes Menzies had universities built but he always intended that would best serve upper income families, his supporters. A small number of “bursaries” was made available for those who did not have the means to afford university for their children.
Whitlam was the true strong supporter of universities, making them free for all to access. That idea never crossed Menzies mind.
Not on Menzies radar, however, as both my husband and myself received Commonwealth Scholarships to complete our high school years and to complete our university degrees there was a lot more generosity in the system then than there is now.
Neither of us graduated with a debt to pay off before we could save for a home and have children.
Tony Abbott wanted to make the HECS or HELP debts retrievable if the person died during university or after they had graduated.
This system as it is.In the US, if you die without enough insurance, you can bankrupt your parents.
What hollow lamentations! Especially from the tories.
The recent plummet of standards started, in my view, with Howard listening benignly to toxins emitted by Pulling Hanson, all the while thinking; ‘How to I appropriate here constituency?’ Then children overboard and the Tampa presented him withe the opportunity to mortally divide parliament and society. Then followed Abbott’s mysoginistic vitriol towards Julia Gillard and unflinching policy negativity, another low point towards the pit we see now. The the spineless Liar from the Shire allowed, indeed encouraged, flagrantly unethical conduct, now culminating in the desperate and embarrassing politics of ‘reds under beds’, a deliberate attack on bipartisan foreign policy in attempt to save his own worthless skin. Have not Alexander and Flint been in his party room for years and done nothing about the appalling standard of coalition politics?
Fitzgibbon is another kettle of fish. How civil has he been in his desperate attempt to act as if he understands the climate armageddon is nigh, but refuse to do anything about it lest he lose his seat.
Ethics before civility I say!
You’re correct, of course. But DF makes a good point, above, regarding the rot beginning with Fraser and Kerr.
Agree B.A. Erosion of standards sourced to Howard era and weaponised by a mysoginistic Abbott. But Morrison, flanked by an entire compliant Ministerial Front Bench abandoned pretence. Revealing Americanization of Australian politics. Removing and replacing Public Service leadership with commercial, Corporate, interests. And in so doing, abandoned accountable governance / democracy in favour of unaccountability and denial of a need to be transparent. To be concise: This Morrison Govt ‘sold’ our democratic values-systems?
I think a lot of the acute bipartisanship can be traced back to the egregious abandonment of respect for democracy by Fraser and Kerr in 1975.
Idiots, I meant partisanship.
DF, Keating agrees with you, believing the death of bi-partisanship, and the rise of partisan divisive politics, emanated from Kerr’s Deception of 1975.
I agree that the standards have and continue to fall especially under the Morrison government.
I’d love to see the back of Dorothy Dixers. $cotty’s mob use them to attack and belittle the opposition.
Both sides use DDs for that purpose but they should be abolished for being a waste of the, arbitrarily limited, time available.
Not that Q/T isn’t an abuse of process at best.
only an abuse since 2013
To quote, ♪♪short memories♪♪ – I’ve listened since the 80s and they were old then, though used with a restraint currently beyond comprehension.
Hence the name, from the 40-50s agony aunt.
In the 60s there was a parody ad for a foamless washing-up liquid featuring Dear Dorothy Trix – Andrea in white fox stole &evening gloves.
It utterly failed to catch on so now surfactant is added, though unrelated to cleansing.
This claim you make is rated the same as your “Dutton 2%” claim
Yes, fail to see how attacks on Flint’s office is Albo’s responsibility.
What’s Scotty done
Dunno- has he asked Jen yet?
I think ill get t shirts made for the election: “what would Jenny say”?
Yes indeed. She has made such sweeping allegations several times, apparently believing that Albanese is personally responsible for the behaviour of all those who espouse values anywhere to the left of Flint’s.
The pathetic Crikey bot has swallowed my reply. I knew Flint couldn’t tolerate criticism, but didn’t know she controlled the Crikey bot.
The Crikey bot won’t allow even a mild criticism of Flint. I give up.
Didn’t you know all the Lefties were controlled by Albo in some great top-down Stalinist structure? Actually, in her less-than-rational derangement, Flint seems to have forgotten that prior to this, she was blaming GetUp for all the political attacks on her.