Sen. Andrew Bartlett (Greens-Qld) – Maiden Speech

Dec 05, 2017

The Queensland Greens Senator Andrew Bartlett has delivered his maiden speech to the upper house.

Bartlett

Bartlett was chosen to represent Queensland in the Senate on November 10, 2017. His election followed the resignation of Larissa Waters on July 18, 2017. On October 27, 2017, the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, ruled that Waters was ineligible to be elected under Section 44 of the Constitution, due to her Canadian dual citizenship. A special recount was ordered and Bartlett was declared elected. He had been the number two candidate on the Greens ticket at the 2016 election.

Bartlett, 53, previously served as an Australian Democrats senator from Queensland between 1997 and 2008. He was leader of the party for two years from 2002 until 2004.

  • Listen to Bartlett’s speech (21m)
  • Watch Bartlett’s speech (22m)

Hansard transcript of Senator Andrew Bartlett’s maiden speech.

The PRESIDENT (17:00): Pursuant to order, I now call Senator Bartlett to make his first speech and ask honourable senators that the usual courtesies be extended to him.

Senator BARTLETT (Queensland) (17:00): I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land that this parliament is meeting on, the Ngunawal and Ngambri people, and also the traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owners of the lands and waters across my home state of Queensland. I pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging. I recognise that sovereignty was never ceded and that there is still so much unfinished business that our country needs to address before we have truth, reconciliation and justice for the first peoples of this land. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Audio, Australian Democrats, Greens, Maiden Speeches, Qld, Senate, Video Tagged With: ,

Current Federal Parliamentary Party Leaders

Sep 17, 2007

Each political party represented in the Federal Parliament elects leaders in each house.

Just as the government is decided in the House of Representatives, so the parties elect their leaders and deputy leaders from amongst their representatives in the House. If the party is not represented in the lower house, its leader will be chosen from amongst its members in the Senate.

House of Representatives
Party Leader Deputy Leader
Liberal Party John Howard
Member for Bennelong (NSW)		 Peter Costello
Member for Higgins (Vic)
National Party Mark Vaile
Member for Lyne (NSW)		 Warren Truss
Member for Wide Bay (Qld)
Australian Labor Party Kevin Rudd
Member for Griffith (Qld)		 Julia Gillard
Member for Lalor (Vic)


The major parties also elect leaders and deputy leaders in the Senate. These people form part of the leadership group and act as the focal point for their parties in the upper house.

For example, the current Liberal Party leader in the Senate, Nick Minchin, is referred to as the Government Leader in the Senate. Senator Chris Evans is referred to as the Opposition Leader in the Senate.

Senate
Party Leader Deputy Leader
Liberal Party Senator Nick Minchin
(South Australia)		 Senator Helen Coonan
(New South Wales)
National Party Senator Ron Boswell
(Queensland)		 Senator Nigel Scullion
(Northern Territory)
Australian Labor Party Senator Chris Evans
(Western Australia)		 Senator Stephen Conroy
(Victoria)
Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett
(Queensland)		 Senator Lyn Allison
(Victoria)
Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown
(Tasmania)
–
Family First Senator Steve Fielding
(Victoria)
–


Footnote: Convention dictates that the official leader of the main parties will be a member of the House of Representatives. In 1968, following the death of its Prime Minister, Harold Holt, the Liberal Party chose its upper house leader, Senator John Gorton, as the new prime minister. Gorton immediately resigned his Senate seat and contested the by-election for Holt’s lower house electorate, Higgins. Thus, Australia had a prime minister for several weeks who was not a member of either house. This is allowed for in Section 64 of the Constitution.

Filed Under: A.L.P., Australian Democrats, General Information, Greens, Leaders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary People, The Nationals Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Democrats Leader Andrew Bartlett Addresses The National Press Club

Sep 28, 2004

The leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Andrew Bartlett, has addressed the National Press Club.

Bartlett’s election appearance was followed eleven days later by a disastrous showing in the election. The Democrats were defending three Senate seats, all of which were lost. The Democrats polled just 2.1% in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, its vote fell 4.17% to just 1.24%.

By contrast, the Australian Greens lifted their vote to 7.7% in the Senate and won an extra 2 seats, giving the party 4 in total. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2004 Federal Election, Audio, Australian Democrats Tagged With: ,

People And Parliament Still In The Dark On FTA: Democrats

Feb 09, 2004

The Australian Democrats have attacked the lack of detail of the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the United States announced earlier today.

The party’s leader, Senator Andrew Bartlett, has lamented the Senate’s lack of power to force changed to the FTA. The Democrats have also called for more parliamentary involvement in the treaty-making process.

  • Listen to Bartlett (10m)

Text of media statement by the Leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Andrew Bartlett, and the party’s spokesperson for Trade and Overseas Development, Senator Aden Ridgeway.

US Trade Deal: Australian People and Parliament Still in the Dark

BartlettThe Australian Parliament and the Australian people still have little knowledge of the detail of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, say the Australian Democrats.

Democrats’ Trade spokesperson, Senator Aden Ridgeway, said that as negotiations have been conducted in secret there is no real idea of the extent of the compromises made in the agreement and the inconsistent messages from each side are cause for concern. [Read more…]

Filed Under: ANZUS, Audio, Australian Democrats, Trade Tagged With: , ,
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