From a federal government as transparent as a dirty window comes a new low: now they want to silence the tweets …
As Labor MP Ed Husic revealed on Twitter, the Standing Committee on Procedure — made up of four Liberals and three Labor MPs — is conducting an inquiry into the “use of electronic devices in the [House of Representatives] chamber”. The committee’s chairman, government backbencher Don Randall, wants to examine how MPs use mobiles and tablets and engage with social media. As he told The Australian:
“There’s been a quantum leap in the use of technology and how it applies to the chamber and members.”
A leap too far for Prime Minister Tony Abbott, clearly, who has already banned his own MPs from engaging in political commentary on Facebook and Twitter. Because you wouldn’t want to debate public policy on platforms where voters actually are …
A cross-chamber gag would only serve to entrench what voters already think: that the business of Parliament is isolated from the people it’s supposed to represent.
“Stop the Leax!”?
After he’s done this, maybe Randall could look at how members abuse their allowances?
I think the appropriate term is; as transparent as a lump of coal.
Do committee chairs get extra allowance? He could put that to paying back that “overdraft” on his allowance, that he claimed, for going to Cairns to look at his investment property?
What a twit
Dear Don Randall,
Cliches are wondrous things. Often they convey exactly the opposite of the intended message.
Such is the case with “quantum leap”. A quantum is the very smallest portion of something, hence such a leap is the smallest conceivable leap, ie pretty much no leap at all.
Another example is “stakeholder” – which refers to a person who does not stand to win or to lose in a bet, thus is trusted by both sides to hold the stakes – but I digress.