Speaker "Pairing" Robs Voters of their Right to Representation

Friday, 17 September 2010 07:52

Rob Oakeshott's outrageous bid to be Speaker on the condition of him choosing where a 'pair' would come from, would rob other electorates of their right to representation. Please tell us what do you think of the following form of words to protest this:

"Please don't sideline my MP, don't rob me of my representation".  Dear Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott, please don't agree to support any move that would bench my MP so an Independent MP can be Speaker without the Constitutional consequence of losing his deliberative vote . "To do so is to give the Speaker a vote that he is  not supposed to have, at the expense of the voting right of my MP. Whether this helps or hurts either side of politics, it doesn't matter. I didn't vote at this election to have my MP robbed of his obligation to vote on vital legislation nor would I support other electorates being robbed of their right to representation. Whatever the backroom deals might have been to pander to the Independents, I never agreed to give up my representation and you didn't have the right to give it away."

Or, should we all go the other way and petition our MPs directly not to agree to be sidelined? Or both?

At ComeOn, we believe pairing has its place to cover for sickness, unavoidable absence and agreed leave to preserve the eleced balance of the House. However, it is not appropriate to seek to bypass the letter and the principle of the Constitution that provides that the Speaker has a casting, but not a deliberative vote. We should, as citizens, insist that our MPs turn up to vote on all important matters and are not denied their right and obligation to do so. The proposed pairing arrangement would disenfranchise a whole electorate of Australian citizens on every vote. Whether peoiple support the left or the right of politics, none of us should ever agree to MPs being denied their right to vote except where bad behaviour sees them suspended from the House.

It is outrageous that Independents asked for this and its outrageous that the major Parties were put in a position and even considered trading this to win the Lodge.

Would you sign an e-petition or something similar directed to the two leaders and your individual MP (the House of Reps doesn't accept e-petitions, so it would be direct action to those individuals rather than a petition for tabling)? Tell us what you think about this issue and how you would like to protest it if you do oppose the pairing proposal.