A Scenario For Tony Abbott And A Motion Of No-Confidence

May 13, 2013 1 Comment

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s intention to give notice of a no-confidence motion when Parliament returns this week has always been a potentially messy business.

A brief explanation: the government controls the Notice Paper in the House of Representatives. This is the document which outlines the order and timing of debate, including the order of legislation.

Whilst there are set times when the Opposition can bring on debate on particular issues (such as in regular Matters of Public Importance), if it wants to move a specific motion it needs to first move a motion for the Suspension of Standing Orders.

Abbott

Abbott attempted to do this during Question Time on March 21, whilst the government was preoccupied with the leadership spill that wasn’t. He sought to suspend standing orders in order to move: “That this House declares no confidence in the Prime Minister.”

The motion was carried by 73 votes to 71 but was defeated because a suspension of standing orders requires an absolute majority of 76 votes.

Abbott then announced that he would give notice of a no-confidence motion when the House resumes tomorrow. He didn’t say whether it would be no-confidence in the government or the prime minister. The difference is technically significant but may not necessarily be crucial to the outcome of any vote. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 Federal Election, Gillard, House of Reps, Liberal Party, Opinion, Parliamentary Procedures, Political History Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Dissolutions, Prorogations and a Mea Culpa

Jul 19, 2010

I learned a timely lesson earlier today.

Sitting in my car after leaving an appointment, I looked at Twitter to see if any there was any news of interest.

A number of media outlets and journalists were tweeting that a 19-gun salute was about to take place, at 4.59pm to be precise, outside Parliament House in Canberra.

Then I managed to forget things I used to know and proceeded to make a fool of myself. Well, I could argue only half a fool, but that’s a bit like being half mad or half pregnant.

I took issue with statements by others that the prorogation of Federal Parliament was about to take place. I was wrong. The Parliament was prorogued at 4.59pm. Here’s the explanation from the Parliamentary Education Office. Thanks to @2ricz.

Before dissolving the House of Representatives, the Governor-General issues a proclamation proroguing the Parliament. Prorogation is an ancient power of the British Crown adopted in the Australian Parliament as the means of bringing a session of Parliament to a close. A prorogation may take place separately from an election, but this rarely happens now except for ceremonial purposes. For example, in 1974 and 1977 the Parliament was prorogued when the Queen visited Australia which enabled Her Majesty to attend and open Parliament. When an election is called, the Prime Minister usually announces a dissolution and prorogation of Parliament at the same time before they are formalised by the Secretary to the Governor-General in a public ceremony in front of Parliament House. After the Parliament is prorogued and the House of Representatives dissolved, bills and other business before the House of Representatives and the Senate lapse and will need to be reintroduced. The government becomes a caretaker government and, by convention, does not make major decisions. The sittings of the Senate are terminated, but Senate Committees may still operate.

I took issue with statements by others that the Parliament was dissolved at 5.00pm. I was right. The House of Representatives was dissolved at 5.00pm but the Senate wasn’t. The Senate is only dissolved when there is a double dissolution and that hasn’t happened since 1987.

I took issue with the assertion that Parliament was “deferred”. I was right. As @ljLoch tweeted, whilst that might be a nice concept, Parliament is never deferred.

The lesson? As that old saying goes, sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Filed Under: Governor-General, House of Reps, Parliament, Parliamentary Procedures Tagged With: , , , ,

Black Saturday Bushfires: Moving Speeches In Parliament For Victims

Feb 09, 2009

The House of Representatives was the scene today of a moving condolence motion for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, was not in attendance, having stayed in Melbourne, but his deputy, Julia Gillard, visibly affected, gave a magnificent speech to a silent chamber. She was followed by the Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, who delivered an equally impressive and moving speech.

Audio recordings of all speeches are shown below. Click on the relevant PLAY button to listen.

  • Julia Gillard – Deputy Prime Minister

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  • Malcolm Turnbull – Leader of the Opposition

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  • Wayne Swan – Treasurer

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  • Julie Bishop – Deputy Leader of the Opposition

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  • Robert McClelland – Attorney-General

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  • Warren Truss – Leader of The Nationals

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  • Steve Gibbons, Member for Bendigo (ALP)

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  • Sharman Stone, Member for Murray (Lib)

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  • Catherine King, Member for Ballarat (ALP)

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  • David Hawker, Member for Wannon (Lib)

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  • Harry Jenkins, Speaker & Member for Scullin (ALP)

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Members also spoke about the Queensland flood situation:

  • Wayne Swan – Treasurer

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  • Warren Truss – Leader of The Nationals

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  • Tony Windsor – Member for New England (Ind) – on behalf of the independent member for Kennedy, Bob Katter.

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Filed Under: Audio, House of Reps, Parliamentary Procedures, Rudd Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rudd Government Faces First Question Time

Feb 13, 2008

The Rudd Government has faced its first Question Time in the new Parliament.

The Opposition Leader’s first question was about petrol and food prices. It required a Dorothy Dixer from the government’s backbench for the stolen generations apology to be raised.

Julia Gillard delivered the most assured and polished performance, emphasising the government’s mandate on industrial relations when asked about the legislation introduced today to dismantle the Howard government’s WorkChoices. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2007 Federal Election, A.L.P., Audio, Cabinet-Ministry, House of Reps, Parliamentary Procedures, Rudd Tagged With: , , ,

John Howard’s Senate Abuses – The Story Since July 1st

Dec 16, 2005

The Federal Opposition has itemised what it calls abuse of process, procedure and convention in the Senate since July 1, the date on which the coalition government assumed a one-seat majority in the upper house.

The ALP leader in the Senate, Chris Evans, has itemised a list of government actions concerning Question Time, censure motions, guillotines, gags and Senate Committees.

The Opposition argues these actions constitute “democratic abuses”.

This is the text of a media statement Senator Chris Evans, the ALP leader in the Senate.

John Howard’s Senate Abuses – Process, Procedure and Convention – the Story Since 1 July

Since gaining senate control, the Howard Government has rolled out what has become a very long list of democratic abuses. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cabinet-Ministry, Howard, Parliamentary Procedures, Parliamentary Reform, Prime Minister, Senate Tagged With: , , , ,
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