DOCSLIB.ORG

The Most Vitriolic Parliament

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Most Vitriolic Parliament THE MOST VITRIOLIC PARLIAMENT EVIDENCE OF THE VITRIOLIC NATURE OF THE 43 RD PARLIAMENT AND POTENTIAL CAUSES Nicolas Adams, 321 382 For Master of Arts (Research), June 2016 The University of Melbourne, School of Social and Political Sciences Supervisors: Prof. John Murphy, Dr. Scott Brenton i Abstract It has been suggested that the period of the Gillard government was the most vitriolic in recent political history. This impression has been formed by many commentators and actors, however very little quantitative data exists which either confirms or disproves this theory. Utilising an analysis of standing orders within the House of Representatives it was found that a relatively fair case can be made that the 43rd parliament was more vitriolic than any in the preceding two decades. This period in the data, however, was trumped by the first year of the Abbott government. Along with this conclusion the data showed that the cause of the vitriol during this period could not be narrowed to one specific driver. It can be seen that issues such as the minority government, style of opposition, gender and even to a certain extent the speakership would have all contributed to any mutation of the tone of debate. ii Declaration I declare that this thesis contains only my original work towards my Masters of Arts (Research) except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text to other material used. Equally this thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit as approved by the Research Higher Degrees Committee. iii Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge my two supervisors, Prof. John Murphy and Dr. Scott Brenton. Working with John for eighteen months and then Scott for four has been not only an excellent learning experience but also an absolute pleasure. Without their patience, understanding and support I would not have been able to complete this thesis. I, at times, tried their patience and understanding and I am truly indebted to them for helping me to see this through. Equally their expertise and willingness to challenge some of my ideas has enabled me to form a clearer and more cohesive central contention. Along with my two Masters supervisors I would like to acknowledge Nicholas Reece who, as my Honours supervisor, helped me to refine this area of research and initially consider this approach. Finally I would like to acknowledge all of the people who have helped with the organisation and management of this course and my work over the past two years. iv Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Literature Review 6 3. Methodology 60 4. Data a. Introductory Data 66 b. Minority Government 73 c. Speakership 84 d. The Potential Effect of Oppositionism 96 5. Conclusion 107 6. Bibliography 114 7. Appendices 123 v 1. Introduction On the 27 th of June 2013 Kevin Rudd was sworn in for his second term as Prime Minister of Australia, officially ending the tenure of Julia Gillard. Gillard had been removed from the Labor leadership the previous night after a ballot was held in the caucus. By the time that she was replaced Julia Gillard had been Prime Minister for a total of 3 years and 3 days, becoming the sixth longest serving Labor Prime Minister 1. The evening before, after having lost a ballot in the Labor caucus to former and future Prime Minister Rudd, Julia Gillard fronted the media and said farewell to the nation. As part of her final statement as Prime Minister Julia Gillard briefly reflected upon a period of political debate that had been rather extraordinary. Commenting upon her time as Prime Minister, Gillard drew upon minority government, internal party division, electoral pressure and her position as the first woman to serve in the role. She identified these as issues which were of singular importance during the majority of her Premiership, eventually telling her caucus colleagues “don’t lack the guts, don’t lack the fortitude, don’t lack the resilience to go out there with our Labor agenda and to win this election” 2. Gillard had identified that her period as Prime Minister had been, to a large extent, dominated by issues of tone and debate. A period during which she faced Tony Abbott as Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd as alternative Labor leader and crises involving the Speakership of the House of Representatives, corruption in the Union movement and the first minority government since the 16 th parliament (1940-43). The issue presented here, however is whether this parliament stands amongst the most vitriolic that Australia has ever seen, and if so what issues contributed to this standing. Australia has, in its 114 years since federation seen some significant periods of aggression and hostility. This includes the 1975 dismissal of Gough Whitlam, the removal of John Gorton as Prime Minister in 1971 and infamously aggressive national leaders such as Paul Keating. All of these periods, and many more aside, have raised queries as to the tone and nature of both our parliamentary institutions and the debate held within. 1 Gillard tenure as a Labor Prime Minister was behind Bob Hawke (8 years 284 days), Andrew Fisher (4 years 297 days), Ben Chifley (4 years 159 days), Paul Keating (4 years 82 days) and John Curtin (3 years 271 days). Billy Hughes served 7 years 105 days, however he was only a member of the Labor party for 1 year 18 days of that period. 2 Julia Gillard, Speech to Press Club, 26/06/2013. 1 The 43 rd parliament, mostly under the premiership of Julia Gillard has, however, been singled out by those involved, by the media and by commentators as a period of significant aggression, hostility and vitriol. A period that stands amongst some of those crises of the past. Gillard’s deputy and Treasurer, Wayne Swan supported a reading of a demeaned parliamentary debate. In his memoirs of the period Swan described the political debate as “increasingly ugly and vicious”, claiming that the policies of the government had become swamped by a “poisonous chemical stew” 3. Swan drew upon issues of party disunity, minority government, the Coalition’s negativity and a “disgracefully biased News Limited” as key drivers of this new environment in Australian politics. Whilst serving as a Deputy Prime Minister under Gillard, Swan contended that the tone and quality of debate had completely removed the possibility for any fair and reasonable debate regarding the economy, budget or anything else. This reading of the situation was strongly supported by Swan’s fellow minister Greg Combet. Combet, who was minister for Energy and Climate change, was responsible for the design and implementation of the Government’s signature Clean Energy Act 2011. This Act, which saw the implementation of a three year fixed carbon pricing scheme followed by the introduction of an emissions trading scheme, faced significant opposition both within the parliament and from sections of the media and public. Aside from questions over the practicalities of the policy, the politics of its introduction was undeniably controversial. In particular the Opposition and media had utilised the statement by Gillard, a week prior to the 2010 election, that there “will be no carbon tax under the government I lead”. This statement, along with the famous “no carbon tax” slogan became a flash point for political debate. During the passage of the bills for the Clean Energy Act the parliament truly became a battle ground. Greg Combet described parliament as “a harrowing place to be… as Abbott used the carbon price to bludgeon the Prime Minister with censure motion after censure motion, the attacks always intensely personal, belligerent and ruthlessly reductionist” 4. Employing reductionist, personal attacks clearly diverted the questioning away from substantive policy discussion. Naturally, and inevitably, this encouraged the media and the public to spend more time absorbing the contest of personalities rather than considering the content of the policy and its alternatives. 3 Wayne Swan, The Good Fight , page 316. 4 Greg Combet, The Fights of My Life, page 262. 2 It was not, however, only members of the Labor government who have subsequently commented upon the tone of debate. Tony Windsor, the Independent member for New England (2001-2013) supported Julia Gillard after the 2010 election helping her to remain as Prime Minister. In his reflection upon the period of the Gillard government he lay heavy criticism upon the actions of senior Coalition politicians. In particular he identified a course of action which preyed upon the differences and weaknesses of Julia Gillard. Windsor contended that “a lot of Australians drank from the trough of abuse that was directed at Julia Gillard” and that “senior politicians such as Tony Abbott, Chris Pyne and the dearly departed Sophie Mirabella should be ashamed of themselves” 5. In particular Windsor drew upon the abuse of gender. He claimed that Abbott “milked” the gender card which has resulted in “lasting damage” 6 to our politics. He equated this action to Howard Sattler’s questioning of Gillard over the sexual orientation of her partner, Tim Mathieson. Windsor contended that this “was not accidental, in today’s political world it is deliberate” 7. Windsor contends that focusing upon the personality and using this for political advantage is entirely strategic. More than that he identified this as a significant issue for Julia Gillard and her government. With a career in parliaments spanning 22 years Windsor clearly identified this period of government as a period in which the tone of political debate was at the very least more personal, probably more vitriolic. It is not, however, only politicians who have drawn upon this period as one that requires singular attention and consideration regarding the tone of debate.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • An Analysis of the Loss of HMAS SYDNEY
    An analysis of the loss of HMAS SYDNEY By David Kennedy The 6,830-ton modified Leander class cruiser HMAS SYDNEY THE MAIN STORY The sinking of cruiser HMAS SYDNEY by disguised German raider KORMORAN, and the delayed search for all 645 crew who perished 70 years ago, can be attributed directly to the personal control by British wartime leader Winston Churchill of top-secret Enigma intelligence decodes and his individual power. As First Lord of the Admiralty, then Prime Minster, Churchill had been denying top secret intelligence information to commanders at sea, and excluding Australian prime ministers from knowledge of Ultra decodes of German Enigma signals long before SYDNEY II was sunk by KORMORAN, disguised as the Dutch STRAAT MALAKKA, off north-Western Australia on November 19, 1941. Ongoing research also reveals that a wide, hands-on, operation led secretly from London in late 1941, accounted for the ignorance, confusion, slow reactions in Australia and a delayed search for survivors . in stark contrast to Churchill's direct part in the destruction by SYDNEY I of the German cruiser EMDEN 25 years before. Churchill was at the helm of one of his special operations, to sweep from the oceans disguised German raiders, their supply ships, and also blockade runners bound for Germany from Japan, when SYDNEY II was lost only 19 days before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Southeast Asia. Covering up of a blunder, or a punitive example to the new and distrusted Labor government of John Curtin gone terribly wrong because of a covert German weapon, can explain stern and brief official statements at the time and whitewashes now, with Germany and Japan solidly within Western alliances.
    [Show full text]
  • Liberal Women: a Proud History
    <insert section here> | 1 foreword The Liberal Party of Australia is the party of opportunity and choice for all Australians. From its inception in 1944, the Liberal Party has had a proud LIBERAL history of advancing opportunities for Australian women. It has done so from a strong philosophical tradition of respect for competence and WOMEN contribution, regardless of gender, religion or ethnicity. A PROUD HISTORY OF FIRSTS While other political parties have represented specific interests within the Australian community such as the trade union or environmental movements, the Liberal Party has always proudly demonstrated a broad and inclusive membership that has better understood the aspirations of contents all Australians and not least Australian women. The Liberal Party also has a long history of pre-selecting and Foreword by the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP ... 3 supporting women to serve in Parliament. Dame Enid Lyons, the first female member of the House of Representatives, a member of the Liberal Women: A Proud History ... 4 United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party, served Australia with exceptional competence during the Menzies years. She demonstrated The Early Liberal Movement ... 6 the passion, capability and drive that are characteristic of the strong The Liberal Party of Australia: Beginnings to 1996 ... 8 Liberal women who have helped shape our nation. Key Policy Achievements ... 10 As one of the many female Liberal parliamentarians, and one of the A Proud History of Firsts ... 11 thousands of female Liberal Party members across Australia, I am truly proud of our party’s history. I am proud to be a member of a party with a The Howard Years ..
    [Show full text]
  • Independents in Federal Parliament: a New Challenge Or a Passing Phase?
    Independents in Federal Parliament: A new challenge or a passing phase? Jennifer Curtin1 Politics Program, School of Political and Social Inquiry Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. [email protected] “Politics just is the game played out by rival parties, and anyone who tries to play politics in some way entirely independent of parties consigns herself to irrelevance.” (Brennan, 1996: xv). The total dominance of Australia’s rival parties has altered since Brennan made this statement. By the time of the 2001 federal election, 29 registered political parties contested seats and while only the three traditional parties secured representation in the House of Representatives (Liberals, Nationals and Labor) three independents were also elected. So could we argue that the “game” has changed? While it is true that government in Australia, both federally and in the states and territories, almost always alternates between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party (the latter more often than not in coalition with the National Party), independent members have been a feature of the parliaments for many years, particularly at the state level (Costar and Curtin, 2004; Moon,1995). Over the last decade or so independents have often been key political players: for a time, they have held the balance of power in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. More generally, since 1980 an unprecedented 56 independents have served in Australian parliaments. In 2003, 25 of them were still there. This is more than six times the number of independents elected in the 1970s. New South Wales has been the most productive jurisdiction during that time, with fourteen independent members, and Tasmania the least, with only one.
    [Show full text]
  • 2010 Victorian State Election Summary of Results
    2010 VICTORIAN STATE ELECTION 27 November 2010 SUMMARY OF RESULTS Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Legislative Assembly Results Summary of Results.......................................................................................... 3 Detailed Results by District ............................................................................... 8 Summary of Two-Party Preferred Result ........................................................ 24 Regional Summaries....................................................................................... 30 By-elections and Casual Vacancies ................................................................ 34 Legislative Council Results Summary of Results........................................................................................ 35 Incidence of Ticket Voting ............................................................................... 38 Eastern Metropolitan Region .......................................................................... 39 Eastern Victoria Region.................................................................................. 42 Northern Metropolitan Region ........................................................................ 44 Northern Victoria Region ................................................................................ 48 South Eastern Metropolitan Region ............................................................... 51 Southern Metropolitan Region .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Legisy.Ative Assembly
    2nd July, 1991 ASSEMBLY 23 LEGISY.ATIVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday, 2nd July, 1991 FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTTIETH PARLIAMENT The House met at 10.30 a.m., pursuant to the proclamation of His Excellency the Governor. The Clerk read the proclamation. The Clerk announced that he had received a list, certified by His Excellency the Governor, of the names of the members to serve in this Parliament, together with the writs on which they bad been returned; with His Excellency's certification that the writs had been returned prior to the day by which they were by law returnable. OPENING OF SESSION The Usher of the Black Rod, being admitted; delivered a message from the Commissioners requesting the immediate attendance of this honourable House in the Legislative Council Chamber to hear the Commission for the opening of Parliament read. The House went, and members having returned, OATH OR AFFIRMATION OF ALLEGIANCE The Clerk informed the House that His Excellency the Governor had issued a Commission authorising the Hon. Nicholas Frank Greiner, the Hon. Wallace Telford John Murray and the Hon. Peter Edward James Collies to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen required by law to 6e taken or made by members of the Assembly. The Clerk read the Commission. MEMBERS SWORN All members, with the exception of Ms No I'I; took and subscribed the oath or affirmation of allegiance, and signed the roll. ELECTION OF SPEAKER Mr KERB (Cronulla) [11.19] : I move: That Kevin Richard Rozzoli do take the chair of this House as Speaker.
    [Show full text]
  • Ray Williams Inaugural Speech.Pdf
    Inaugural Speeches Inaugural Speeches Extract from NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard and Papers Wednesday 30 May 2007. Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Hawkesbury) [7.56 p.m.] (Inaugural Speech): Today I speak as the newly elected Liberal member for Hawkesbury. The Hawkesbury has been fortunate to have some outstanding representatives in its history. To Kevin Rozzoli, one of the most respected Speakers of this House, a member who worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of Hawkesbury, thank you. Your friendship and advice has been invaluable to me over the past six months, and I will work hard to emulate your record of service, your integrity and your loyalty to the Liberal Party. The electorate of Hawkesbury is adorned with hardworking traditional rural families combined with an abundance of younger aspirational families, many of whom moved to the electorate through the rapid growth of the Rouse Hill development. It is one of the rare places where one can walk through quiet, leafy, treelined rural streets and yet be a mere 35 minutes to the thriving metropolis of Sydney. I have lived and worked in the Hawkesbury electorate my entire life and my family have a very long association with this area dating back almost 200 years. Indeed, my ancestor and one of my original family descendents to this country, Robert Allen, arrived in Australia in 1796 and was given a land grant on Castle Hill Road, Castle Hill, in 1814. Robert Allen was sentenced to transportation as a political prisoner from Ireland and disembarked from the Marquis Cornwallis in Sydney Cove in 1796.
    [Show full text]
  • By the People, for the People? Community Participation in Law Reform November 2010
    access to justice and legal needs By the People, for the People? community ParticiPation in law reform november 2010 Access to Justice And LegAL needs Volume 6 By the People, for the People? c ommunity particiPAtion in law reform november 2010 natalina nheu & Hugh mcdonald LAw And Justice foundAtion of new soutH wALes ISSN 1832-2670 This report is part of the Access to Justice and Legal Needs monograph series published by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales. The Foundation seeks to advance the fairness and equity of the justice system, and to improve access to justice, especially for socially and economically disadvantaged people. The series is aimed at researchers, policy-makers, government, the legal community and others interested in legal need and access to law and justice. It is a scholarly, refereed series. Monographs are refereed by at least two appropriate external referees who are independent of the Foundation and any other organisations/authors involved in the publication. Managing Editor: Geoff Mulherin © Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, November 2010 This publication is copyright. It may be reproduced in part or in whole for educational purposes as long as proper credit is given to the Foundation. Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation’s Board of Governors. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Author: Nheu, Natalina. Title: By the people, for the people?: community participation in law reform / Natalina Nheu & Hugh McDonald Edition: 1st ed. ISBN: 978 0 909136 93 2 (pbk.) Series: Access to justice and legal needs; v.
    [Show full text]
  • Read the Australian's Full Response to Media Watch's Questions
    From: Mitchell, Chris Sent: Friday, 10 September 2010 5:07 PM To: Lin Buckfield Subject: RE: Questions from Media Watch Dear Lin, Bob Brown criticised the ABC for ignoring the Greens during the federal election campaign and not treating his party seriously. We assigned a senior Canberra bureau reporter to travel around the country with Mr Brown during the early part of the campaign and gave extensive coverage to the party throughout the campaign, including its campaign launch. We make no apologies for applying scrutiny to the Greens’ policies, something other media organisations including the ABC appear to have paid scant attention to, and all the more important given their balance of power position in both Houses. 1 Possibly but not exclusively. We have covered many Greens news stories straight. 2 We are not a big circulation newspaper and we are not silly enough to think we could wreck anything. We are scrutinising a major party (as we did the Howard Government during the AWB story) and we are scrutinizing a new government. We do not seek to be part of any “rainbow Coalition” but just to do our jobs 3 We would have run several hundred political stories since August 15. Twenty negatives on the greens seems very few. We would have run many more negative stories about Labor and the Coalition in that period. 4 The public interest in this story is obvious. Imagine if we found Bob Katter’s wife was employed by Tony Abbott. That would have been reported in the public interest. No one thought it inappropriate to report the familial relationship of Bruce Hawker and his cousin Tony Windsor.
    [Show full text]
  • Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Access Arrangements) Bill 2010
    Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services BILLS DIGEST NO. 63, 2010–11 28 February 2011 Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Access Arrangements) Bill 2010 Paula Pyburne Law and Bills Digest Section Contents Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Background .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Basis of policy commitment ................................................................................................................ 4 Committee consideration ................................................................................................................... 5 Current consideration .................................................................................................................... 5 Previous consideration .................................................................................................................. 5 Policy position of non-government parties and independents .......................................................... 6 Coalition ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Australian Greens .......................................................................................................................... 6
    [Show full text]
  • THE 'WA APPROACH' to NATIONAL PARTY SURVIVAL John Phillimore
    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Phillimore, J. and McMahon, L. 2015. Moving Beyond 100 Years: The "WA Approach" to National Party Survival. Australian Journal of Politics and History. 61 (1): pp. 37-52], which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12085. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving at http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms MOVING BEYOND 100 YEARS: THE ‘WA APPROACH’ TO NATIONAL PARTY SURVIVAL John Phillimore* Lance McMahon Submitted to and accepted by Australian Journal of Politics and History *Corresponding Author: [email protected] or 9266 2849 John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University GPO Box U1987 Perth WA 6845 Professor John Phillimore is Executive Director of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University. Lance McMahon is a Research Associate at the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University. June 2014 1 MOVING BEYOND 100 YEARS: THE ‘WA APPROACH’ TO NATIONAL PARTY SURVIVAL Abstract Since its formation in 1913, the Western Australian branch of the National Party has faced many challenges to its survival. Electoral reform removing rural malapportionment in 2005 prompted changes in strategic direction, including abandoning coalition with the Liberal Party and creating a discrete image, branding and policy approach. Holding the balance of power after the 2008 election, the Party adopted a post-election bargaining strategy to secure Ministries and funding for its ‘Royalties for Regions’ policy. This ‘WA approach’ is distinctive from amalgamation and coalition arrangements embraced elsewhere in Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Papers Index
    PROOF As at 24 August 2012 Sittings from 5 November 2008 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY SEVENTH ASSEMBLY 2008–2009–2010–2011–2012 INDEX TO PAPERS Index to Papers Paper MOP Page 2 2003 Canberra Bushfires—McLeod Report and Doogan Coronial Inquiry—Government agreed recommendations—Implementation report, prepared by ACT Bushfire Council, dated June 2009 293 2009-10 Budget surplus—Medial release—ACT Labor, dated 19 September 2008 103 2010 National Multicultural Festival 561 2013 Canberra Centenary—Funding and Tourism—Letter from Tony Windsor MP, Federal Member for New England, dated 24 April 2012 concerning the resolution of the Assembly of 28 March 2012 1900 2013 Canberra Centenary—Funding and Tourism—Letter to the Speaker from Hon Warren Truss MP, Leader of the Nationals, dated 28 May 2012, concerning the resolution of the Assembly of 28 March 2012 2033 2013 Canberra Centenary—Funding and Tourism—Letter to the Speaker from Senator the Hon Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, dated 1 May 2012, concerning the resolution of the Assembly of 28 March 2012 1996 2013 Canberra Centenary—Funding and Tourism—Letter to the Speaker from the Federal Member for Lyne, dated 16 April 2012, relating to the resolution of the Assembly of 28 March 2012 1892 2013 Canberra Centenary—Funding and Tourism—Letter to the Speaker from the Hon Peter Slipper MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, dated 10 May 2012, concerning the resolution of the Assembly of 28 March 2012 1996 i Index to Papers Paper MOP Page A
    [Show full text]
  • The Caretaker Election
    26. The Results and the Pendulum Malcolm Mackerras The two most interesting features of the 2010 election were that it was close and it was an early election. Since early elections are two-a-penny in our system, I shall deal with the closeness of the election first. The early nature of the election does, however, deserve consideration because it was early on two counts. These are considered below. Of our 43 general elections so far, this was the only one both to be close and to be an early election. Table 26.1 Months of General Elections for the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–2010 Month Number Years March 5 1901,1983, 1990, 1993, 1996 April 2 1910, 1951 May 4 1913, 1917, 1954, 1974 July 1 1987 August 2 1943, 2010 September 4 1914, 1934, 1940, 1946 October 6 1929, 1937, 1969, 1980, 1998, 2004 November 7 1925, 1928, 1958, 1963, 1966, 2001, 2007 December 12 1903, 1906, 1919, 1922, 1931, 1949, 1955, 1961, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1984 Total 43 The Close Election In the immediate aftermath of polling day, several commentators described this as the closest election in Australian federal history. While I can see why people would say that, I describe it differently. As far as I am concerned, there have been 43 general elections for our House of Representatives of which four can reasonably be described as having been close. They are the House of Representatives plus half-Senate elections held on 31 May 1913, 21 September 1940, 9 December 1961 and 21 August 2010.
    [Show full text]