Australians were used to turning to Parliament for a bit of entertainment — politicians with props, cleverly-worded insults, dissent amongst parties. But the 47th Parliament promises something different — and something much more boring.
For democracy, this is of course a good thing. For entertainment purposes and TV grabs, less so.
This morning, Leader of the House Tony Burke introduced new standing orders to address long sitting hours and the useless gridlock on debate. To make Parliament more family-friendly, there’ll be no votes or quorum checks after 6.30pm and no sitting days during school holidays. Parliament will start half an hour earlier at 9am on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Question time questions will be kept under 30 seconds, and Burke is pushing for debate to be more frequent but kept shorter and controlled.
“What’s in front of us now is much better than nine years of spending, hour after hour, in here, fighting over whether or not people were allowed to talk,” he said.
(Last night, Burke suspended the automatic adjournment of Parliament last night, meaning when the bells went off at 7.30pm Parliament kept sitting — but in the end, it only went 19 minutes overtime.)
It’s all part of sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins’ recommendations for a safer, more respectful Parliament — including normal working hours. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he’ll lead a different kind of government, one that is more collegial and less combative.
Ensuring this happens will be in the hands of new Speaker Milton Dick, who was once booted out of Parliament in 2018 for bringing Muppets into question time. Dick reconfirmed his commitments to a safe and inclusive Parliament, welcoming the challenge to restore order and respect.
(It’s perhaps slightly noteworthy that, while announcing Liberal MP Ian Goodenough’s nomination for second Deputy Speaker and exploring his achievements and migrant background, Albanese turned his back to the opposition to gasbag with frontbenchers).
Parliament officially opened yesterday to much pomp and faff, including a speech from Governor-General David Hurley, prayers, and afternoon tea. (Do we need to acknowledge the Queen and God, or is it simply that without it and aside from the welcome to country, opening day wouldn’t have any substance to it at all?) Scott Morrison’s absence was the only scandal of the day, though Tomorrow Movement climate protesters being removed from Parliament also made the news.
Thanks to all the procedural stuff politicians needed to get through, there was limited time for debate. The Coalition criticised Labor’s decision to abolish the joint statement on Northern Australia, though their heart wasn’t in it. Four new MPs delivered maiden speeches. There were long condolence speeches for Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe. The most rambunctious part of Parliament was when new Liberal MP Aaron Violi referenced his support for Collingwood football team.
Parliament doesn’t just feel different — it looks it too. The 47th Parliament is the most diverse ever, with 38% women in the House of Representatives and 57% in the Senate (although just 6.6% have overseas non-European backgrounds). Splashes of pink, hijabs and saris dotted the chamber.
Labor has a tough term on its hands — it’s dealing with record-high inflation (potentially the highest since 1990), a fight with the Greens on the Climate Change Bill 2022, and an incredibly tough budget. It has some really serious issues to contend with and, as Albanese said yesterday, politicians needed to always be on the clock, making their work a source of pride.
As the first working day of Parliament kicks off — with a new version of question time getting underway at 2pm — it will be interesting to see just how much more cohesive, respectful, and productive a Parliament under Albanese will be.
