GrodsCorp

Grow up, Labor

Tuesday 3 June 2008, 8:09 am

The Editor

Categories: Politics

Tags: AnthonyAlbanese, democracy, JoeHockey, JohnHoward, KevinRudd, Labor, legislation, LiberalParty, parliament

The Labor government has announced its intention to ram 22 pieces of legislation through the House of Representatives this week, necessitating 10pm sittings of Parliament. The opposition, through Joe Hockey, has claimed that the rushed timetable will not allow sufficient debate of legislation enabling things such as FuelWatch and equal benefits for gaymosexual couples. The government, through Anthony Albanese, has hit back accusing the opposition of hypocrisy due to its habit under John Howard of doing the exact same thing with legislation covering areas such as industrial relations and asylum seekers.

I was highly critical of John Howard’s government when it dodged scrutiny and debate of its legislation by using its numbers to force it through Parliament as quickly as possible; it was anti-democracy and bad for Australia. But Labor using the primary school argument of “they did it first so we’re going to do it as well” makes a total mockery of Kevin Rudd’s pre-election rhetoric that his party would restore back to government the respectability that had been eroded during the Howard years.

Kevin Rudd and Labor should allow proper debate of their legislation in Parliament or else they risk lowering themselves to the democracy-hating levels that John Howard used to enjoy flirting with.

23 Comments

Damian (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 8:35 am) #

Hear, hear!
Jangari (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:10 am) #

…the exact same thing with legislation covering areas such as industrial relations and asylum seekers.

Not to mention, Indigenous Affairs.
magic bellybutton (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:54 am) #

WTF is with the ALP at the moment? They’re all behaving like children.
Bron (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 10:31 am) #

Good point well made, Ed. I agree wholeheartedly. It’s making a mockery of the system.
Wah (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 11:09 am) #

Wayne Swan made a good point though, saying that if Labor didn’t try to new polices through the Libs would accuse them of doing nothing and being spin over substance.
Bron (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 11:25 am) #

Good point, also, Wah — but that’s just politicking. There still needs to be some transparency and accountability and debate, regardless. No matter what Labor will do, the Libs will still find something to spin and nitpick on.
Bruce (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 11:45 am) #

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear! (Do I laugh or grumble? I didn’t hear the speaker.)
Wah (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 1:09 pm) #

One thing I don’t understand about the Libs is why they want to delay legislation when they only have the balance of power in the Senate for another month or so.
The Editor (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 1:11 pm) #

Because they can still block it with the assistance of Fudies First and/or Xenephon (or even the Greens in some cases.)
Chade (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 4:08 pm) #

Did you mean Fundies First or Nudies First, Editor…?
David (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 4:59 pm) #

Fundies Fist, perhaps.
Damian (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 5:00 pm) #

Fisting Nudies?
Mikey (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 6:08 pm) #

Absolutely right. They should.

However enfeebled Libs take note. Pay back is a bitch.
joe2 (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:32 pm) #

I thought it fair to stack up lots of legislation and challenge the opposition to block it before the senate changeover.

And, particularly, if Nelson is proposing to hold up what are considered the “budgetry essentials”, why not call him on it, while he still has some power to decide?
Leon Bertrand (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:39 pm) #

Both sides are as bad as each other. Accountability and transparency is much easier to talk about than to practice, as Labor seems to be discovering at the moment:

http://leonbertrand.blogspot.com/2008/05/bligh-governments-40-secrets.html
Krypto (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:42 pm) #

there’s a bloody Arab in every tent isn’t there.
John Surname (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 9:56 pm) #

Don’t troll here to raise the hits for your pathetic blog, Leon. No-one is reading your “articles”.
Krypto (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 10:31 pm) #

oh that’s not quite true John, Andy Slandy is probably reading.

More to the point no-one of integrity is reading Leon’s “articles” (unless they’re trolling for something hillariously stupid to blog about).
John Surname (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 10:37 pm) #

Please, Landeryou is only pretending to read them. Why would Landeryou read them when they mimic him in the first place?
Mikey (Tuesday 3 June 2008, 11:07 pm) #

Is Leon any relation to Plastic Bertrand?
Leon Bertrand QC (Wednesday 4 June 2008, 6:13 pm) #

actually, John, you have commented on my blog many times.

So I take you you have admitted you have no integrity?
Howard Roark (Wednesday 4 June 2008, 6:28 pm) #

Actually, Leon has a point, John.
The Editor (Wednesday 4 June 2008, 6:59 pm) #

P. W. N. E. D.