Victoria’s Democracy on Life Support
Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur will not attend the sitting of Parliament today in accordance with the Chief Health Officer’s instructions for rural based regional MPs to refrain from travelling to Melbourne.
Mrs McArthur said she was assured no Government or General Business will be allowed to take place, meaning there will be no votes on motions or legislation.
All questions and matters able to be raised with Ministers, to which they are not obligated to respond to on the floor of Parliament, are able to be submitted in writing and incorporated into Hansard.
Only limited numbers of MPs will be allowed in the Chamber at any one time with strict hygiene protocols adhered to.
Quotes attributable to Bev McArthur MP:
“It is appalling that Members of Parliament are being ordered to not represent their constituents’ interests in the chamber by an unelected public servant who has been given significant and wide-ranging powers under the State of Emergency. It is interesting however, that the Government appears to sometimes selectively use his advice. The sittings of Parliament appear to be a major priority for his expertise."
“Parliament must continue to operate during these times of unprecedented executive power and if it will only be permitted to do so with the exclusion of MPs from regional Victoria, then that is a most unfortunate compromise.”
“This sitting day is Labor’s ‘Potemkin village’ for democracy and parliamentary scrutiny – reduced MPs, an empty lower house, a Health Minister who evades all questioning and a three-hour sitting.”
“All Ministers should be expected to turn up and be held to account, especially the Leader if the House and Agriculture Minister who, despite representing a regional electorate, given the vast damage being done to the agricultural sector from forced business closures, especially abattoirs is not apparently going to appear.”
“The Government seems comfortable using the CHO in a partisan way to allow three senior Ministers; Symes, Tierney and Pulford to avoid scrutiny at a time in this crisis when Agriculture, Regional Development, Tertiary Education and Small Business are being so adversely affected by draconian state lockdown regulations. They should all be in the chamber to answer questions on these key portfolio areas.”
“And as for both the State of Emergency and State of Disaster - this should be debated in both houses and not simply signed off with a pen by Dear Leader Dan.”
18 August 2020