December 3, 2023
The four Greens senators say they will put the Howard Government’s one-seat majority to the test this week.
The Greeens will nominate Kerry Nettle for Senate President and Christine Milne for Deputy President, as well as moving for David Hicks to be returned from Guantanamo Bay.
Following last Thursday’s parliamentary address by President Bush, during which Senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle interjected, the Greens have objected to their treatement at the hands of the parliament’s presiding officers during yesterday’s address by China’s President Hu Jintao.
The Greens senators have been on the receiving end of considerable media criticism following their performance during Bush’s speech, but the strong-arm tactics of the Chinese will unsettle many.
A report by Steve Lewis in The Australian today claims that the Chinese President threatened not to deliver his speech unless he was guaranteed a silent reception. Lewis paints a picture of frantic last-minute activity as Hu arrived at Parliament House:
Just before 9.30am yesterday, the Foreign Minister of China, Li Zhaoxing, pulled up at Parliament House in his chauffeur-driven limousine.
United States President George W. Bush has addressed the Australian Parliament during his visit to Canberra.
The speech was punctuated by interjections from Greens senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle.
The Australian Democrats and the Australian Greens have each expressed opposition to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
The proposed agreement has been the subject of discussion between the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the US President, George W. Bush, over the weekend.
Bush has said he wants to reach agreement on a FTA this year and send it to Congress for approval next year. International treaties have to be approved by the United States Senate. No such constitutional requirement exists in Australia. An executive government decision here is sufficient for Australia to become a signatory to a free trade agreement.
Social change starts in the hearts and minds of committed and passionate individuals, according to new Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle.
Nettle was giving her first speech to the Senate. Elected at the November 10, 2001 Federal Election, Nettle took up her seat on July 1, 2002.
She represents New South Wales and is the second Australian Greens senator. She joins Senator Bob Brown who was elected in 1996.
Text of Senator Kerry Nettle’s first speech to the Senate.
I revel in the opportunity to deliver my first speech during a debate about bargaining fees, where people on this side of the chamber rise to speak in the defence of Australian workers being able to organise collectively in the workplace. I start by paying my respects to the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of this land. I acknowledge the pain and the suffering that so many Indigenous Australians have suffered as a result of the European invasion of this country. I acknowledge that the price for the prosperity and the peace that we enjoy today has been overwhelmingly borne by the first Australians. On behalf of the people that I represent in this parliament, I say sorry for these past injustices. The Greens look forward to continuing to work with Indigenous Australians to address both past and current discrimination. Only when Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians work together can the true potential of our multicultural society be realised.