Senator Andrew Bartlett
Monday, February 14, 2005
 
No Need for the Whip, No Need for the Rein
The first week of Senate sittings has finished. As always, plenty of things happened – some major, some minor. Even though it was just the first week, the Government has only scheduled 18 more sitting days before the end of June when they take control of the Senate. The number of sitting days the Government allows has been getting less and less over the last few years, but this is the lowest number in decades. By amazing coincidence, the number of sittings days after the Government gets control of the Senate is much larger.

From a quick count, I think the Senate passed 25 Bills (in 13 separate packages) during the week. The Senate also demonstrated its usual level of obstructiveness by blocking zero (sometimes also described as nought, nil or none) pieces of legislation.

There were some significant ones in amongst these, not least further extending public subsidies for people over 65 with private health insurance. The Government said this measure was "a reward" for people who hold health insurance. My feeling is that that's all very nice, but it means more taxpayers' money going to people who on average already have more wealth than those who can't afford to take out private health cover. Economically inefficient and patently unfair I would have thought.

However, Labor passed it in the Senate because it was a Government election promise, even though they slagged it off while they passed it. I doubt they’ll use the same rationale and support Bills containing election promises dealing with industrial relations issues.

Other legislation passed included a measure to fix up some transition glitches with the GST (five years on), extra Govt powers to include identifying data in Passports, and bringing in improved water efficient labelling and standards (which were the result of Democrat initiatives).

A lot of questions were asked of Senator Vanstone throughout the week about the Cornelia Rau case and the inadequate, narrow private Inquiry that's been set up. Usually there are about 5 journalists who come to Senate Question Time and sit in the special gallery that's provided for them. The vast bulk of journalists go to witness the vaudeville in the House of Representatives instead. However, on the first sitting day I counted as many as 8 at one stage, which I guess counts as extensive interest.

Given the large number of angles being pursued by people on this matter, I focussed on trying to get a guarantee that the Government's Inquiry would allow evidence to be given by the asylum seekers who witnessed Ms Rau's treatment in the detention centre. As they are the main eye-witnesses of this aspect of the story, I think this is important (should they wish to give evidence of course). As far as I know, there still hasn't been any guarantee given that these detainees will be able to give evidence.

I try not to make this web diary too full of political proselytising, so I put most of the information about speeches I make and questions I ask on my main website.

This was also my first week in the Senate as party Whip. No major dramas there – the Government was changing the order of the business pretty regularly, but that's nothing unusual. Being Whip involves going to meetings each day – usually fairly short – with the Whips from the other parties to go through what is likely to be happening in the Chamber the next day and get a rough indication of how it might pan out.

The Labor Party Whip is a guy called George Campbell, a fairly gruff guy with a British accent (I think it's Northern Irish, but only because his biography says that's where he was born), who came into the Senate on a casual vacancy a month before I did. The Government Whip is Jeannie Ferris, who has been in the Senate since the 1996 election (although technically she too was appointed to fill a casual vacancy).

Because of the allegations Senator Ferris made about me at the end of 2003 and the resulting media furore, there was a bit of tiresome media coverage at the end of last year about whether us both being Whips would cause some problem. Of course it didn’t. Business flowed smoothly and everyone got on with our jobs –no doubt to the disappointment of the media.

Even though the Senate sittings finished on Thursday evening, I had to stay down in Canberra for a whole bunch of planning meetings, which was a bit of a drag. However, it was more productive than most weekend-long meetings I've had, so I guess that's a good thing.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Monday, February 14, 2005 Permalink
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