To View the PJCHR As a Fix-All for Human Rights Considerations in the Australian Context Or Even the Parliamentary Context
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AUSTRALASIAN STUDY OF PARLIAMENT GROUP Established in 1978, the Australasian Study of Parliament Group (ASPG) is a politically nonpartisan body, focused on encouraging and stimulating research, writing, teaching and discussion about parliamentary institutions, particularly those of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. The ASPG has a main Executive body and has established Chapters in all States and Territories of Australia and in New Zealand. These Chapters are supported by the institutions providing secretariat services to the respective legislatures in Australia and New Zealand. ASPG membership consists of parliamentarians, parliamentary officers, academics, teachers, journalists, students and other interested individuals. For more information about the ASPG and its membership go to www.aspg.org.au. The Australasian Parliamentary Review (APR) is the official journal of the ASPG. Material published in the APR is subject to copyright. Requests for permission to reproduce material from the APR should be directed to the Editor. ©Australasian Study of Parliament Group ISSN 1447-9125 AUSTRALASIAN PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW Editor: Professor Rodney Smith, University of Sydney. Email: [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Dr Peter Aimer, University of Auckland Dr Paul Reynolds, Parliament of Queensland Jennifer Aldred, Public and Regulatory Policy Kirsten Robinson, Parliament of Western Australia Consultant Kevin Rozzoli, University of Sydney Dr David Clune, University of Sydney Professor Cheryl Saunders, University of Melbourne Dr Ken Coghill, Monash University Emeritus Professor Marian Sawer, Australian National Professor Brian Costar, Swinburne University of University Technology Professor Marian Simms, Deakin University Dr Jennifer Curtin, University of Auckland Dr Robyn Smith, Parliament of the Northern Territory Dr Gareth Griffith, NSW Parliamentary Library Dr David Solomon, former Queensland Integrity Professor John Halligan, University of Canberra Commissioner Associate Professor Graham Hassall, Victoria Dr Katrin Steinack, University of Melbourne University of Wellington Dr Elaine Thompson, University of New South Wales Dr Richard Herr, University of Tasmania Wayne Tunnecliffe, Parliament of Victoria Dr Michael Hogan, University of Sydney Professor Anne Twomey, University of Sydney Professor Bryan Horrigan, Monash University Dr June Verrier, former Head, Australian Parliament Professor Helen Irving, University of Sydney Information and Research Services Dr Rosemary Laing, Australian Senate Professor George Williams, University of New South Adjunct Professor Colleen Lewis, Monash University Wales Dr Clement MacIntyre, University of Adelaide Dr Isla Macphail, Parliament of Western Australia Professor Raymond Miller, University of Auckland Dr Harry Phillips, Parliament of Western Australia Dr Stephen Redenbach, Parliament of Victoria 1 Australasian Parliamentary Review AUTUMN/WINTER 2018 • VOL 33 NO 1 Table of Contents From the Editor 3 Rodney Smith 3 ARTICLES 5 Designing Referendums for Peacemaking: The Case of Bougainville* 6 Ron Levy, Amelia Simpson, Ian O’Flynn and Georgina Flaherty 6 The People’s Parliament: Have Petitions Had Their Day?* 41 Rebecca Burton 41 The Role, Operation and Effectiveness of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights after Five Years* 72 Zoe Hutchinson 72 Vote Seeking and the Strategy of Provocation: An Initial Analysis of the AfD’s Impact on the German Bundestag* 72 Charles Lees 108 Localism, Diversity and Volatility: The 2016 Australian Federal Election and the ‘Rise’ of Populism* 134 Nick Economou and Zareh Ghazarian 134 Public Office as/is a Public Trust 156 David Solomon AM 156 BOOK REVIEWS 168 The Australian Policy Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Policy-Making Process (6th Edition), by Catherine Althaus, Peter Bridgman and Glyn Davis. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2017, pp. 320. RRP $55.00. 169 Colleen Lewis 169 2 Animal Welfare in Australia: Politics and Policy, by Peter John Chen. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 2016, pp. xxi + 406. RRP $40.00 (pb). 172 Darren Halpin 172 Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia, by Clive Hamilton. Melbourne: Hardie Grant, 2018, pp. 376. RRP $34.99 (pb). 174 David Clune 174 * Indicates that the article has been double-blind reviewed. 3 From the Editor Rodney Smith Professor of Australian Politics, University of Sydney Welcome to the second online issue of the Australasian Parliamentary Review. The first online issue was made available to Australasian Study of Parliament Group members in March. The feedback on the switch to an electronic format has overwhelmingly been positive and we are confident that the new format will only improve over time. The online journal format allows for easier article searches, as well as the inclusion of electronic links and graphical material that is difficult to reproduce in a paper-based journal. Individual articles can be printed by members who want to keep them to hand in paper form. The online production of this issue has once again been led by ASPG Vice President Lesley Ferguson. I would like to thank her for the skills and hard work she has again put into in ensuring that the transition to an online journal has been smooth. This issue of the Australasian Parliamentary Review meets the journal’s editorial goals of disseminating research about parliamentary politics in Australasia and the South Pacific, as well as trends in wider international politics of relevance to our region. In the first article, Ron Levy and his co-authors draw on deliberative democratic theory, a range of comparative cases and an understanding of local contextual factors to make a case for adopting a deliberative approach to the 2019 peacemaking referendum in Bougainville. Rebecca Burton assesses recent trends in petitions to the Parliament of Western Australian, arguing that petitions have not ‘had their day’ but that the petitions process might need to be reformed if they are to stay a relevant way for citizens to communicate with parliamentarians. Zoe Hutchinson provides a detailed five-year review of the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, challenging the view that it is ineffective and suggesting some measures to enhance its role. The next two articles deal with populist parties. Readers of both will be able to draw conclusions about similarities and differences in the electoral and parliamentary trajectories of populist parties in Germany and Australia. Charlie Lees provides an insightful account of the early impact of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) on the politics of the German Bundestag, while Nick Economou and Zareh Ghazarian explain the comparative weakness of populist parties in Australia. The final article is based on a presentation by David Solomon to the 2018 Australasian Study of Parliament Group National Conference held in Brisbane in July. In this article, he traces a recent revival in the use of ‘public trust’ and ‘public interest’ as 4 measures by which public officials, including parliamentarians, should be assessed. I hope to publish more papers from the 2018 Conference in future issues of the journal. I would like again to thank the helpful experts who refereed five of the papers for this issue. The authors found the comments of the referees constructive and the papers were improved as a result. This issue is rounded off with three reviews of significant recent books in Australian politics and public policy: Catherine Althouse et al’s Australian Policy Handbook, Peter Chen’s Animal Welfare in Australia, and Clive Hamilton’s Silent Invasion. If you have a relevant book that you would like reviewed in the Australasian Parliamentary Review, please contact me. 5 Articles 6 Designing Referendums for Peacemaking: The Case of Bougainville* Ron Levy, Amelia Simpson, Ian O’Flynn and Georgina Flaherty1 Associate Professor, ANU Law School, Australian National University Associate Professor, ANU Law School, Australian National University Senior Lecturer, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University (UK) Research Associate (2017-2018), ANU Law School, Australian National University * Double-blind reviewed article. INTRODUCTION: THE PROSPECTS AND RISKS OF PEACEMAKING REFERENDUMS In 1975 the Bougainville Interim Provisional Government announced its intention to secede from Papua New Guinea (‘PNG’). Tensions escalated and took a dramatic turn in 1987-88 with the launch of an armed uprising by a group calling itself the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. The PNG government deployed its armed forces to quell the unrest and Bougainville erupted into a civil war that has been called the largest conflict in the region since the Second World War.2 The war was finally brought to a close in 1998, followed by the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) in 2001. The BPA in turn led to the creation of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (‘ARB’). Under Part XIV of the PNG Constitution (amended as a result of the BPA), the ‘two governments’ of PNG and the ARB must together negotiate the details around the 1 We are grateful to Satish Chand, Anna Dziedzic, Bal Kama and Anthony Regan for discussion of and insights on this article. 2 Volker Boege, ‘Peacebuilding and State Formation’, Peace Review 21 2009: 30. 7 conduct of a referendum to resolve the region’s future political status. Negotiations are well underway, with an agreement having been reached on many procedural matters and 15 June 2019 set as the current target referendum date. Globally,