The disgrace that is the Senate

[Gavin Excell]

Why do we tolerate the Senate that throws up unelected swill like Babet, Antic and others including Thorpe who walked away from her elected platform to pursue her self indulgent agenda
All these people have views that are important to them but they aren't reflective of the voters and don't represent the electorate

To think an absolute arsewtit like Babet could end up deciding legislation is just ridiculous

 

[geoffjennings79]

Why do we tolerate the Senate that throws up unelected swill like Babet, Antic and others including Thorpe who walked away from her elected platform to pursue her self indulgent agenda
All these people have views that are important to them but they aren't reflective of the voters and don't represent the electorate

To think an absolute arsewtit like Babet could end up deciding legislation is just ridiculous

You omitted to include that fruit loop Malcolm Roberts.

 

[kickazz]

Paul was right.

 

[kickazz]

Yeah I dunno. We keep voting above the line for the major parties, where no doubt top billing on the ticket is for sale to the highest bidder.

Yet we need better alternatives. The cross bench seems to be a real mix of decent independents/alternatives and dipshits. I mean imagine trying to work together with that to form a voting bloc with any influence.

 

[Festerz]

SA Senator and the leader of the so-called Liberal moderates Simon Birmingham has announced his retirement from politics at the next election.

While the list of his major achievements in Federal Politics could be written on a post-it note his departure will cause a lot of anxiety in Government and Coalition circles because with the SA Liberal Party shifting right, it could see yet another under cover right wing radical to take his place at the next election (similar to what happened with Alex Antic and Cory Bernardi).

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Why do we tolerate the Senate that throws up unelected swill like Babet, Antic and others including Thorpe who walked away from her elected platform to pursue her self indulgent agenda

"Unrepresentative swill" was Keating's original quote, and you can make a case for that being accurate. "Unelected" is not accurate though, they were elected in a free and fair election, after the GVT rort had been taken away. The Liberals were entitled to put up an extremist like Antic, and the public rewarded them by giving him a seat. They were also entitled to tell voters to give their preferences to the UAP, which they did, giving that little 13 year old basement dweller Babet a seat. This is all fair.

As for Thorpe, you have it backwards. It was the party room that walked away from their elected platform on the Voice. Thorpe was the only one who didn't, and chose to resign rather than deviate from that elected platform. It's fine if you don't like her agenda or her actions, but let's be accurate about what she did.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Yeah I dunno. We keep voting above the line for the major parties, where no doubt top billing on the ticket is for sale to the highest bidder.

Yet we need better alternatives. The cross bench seems to be a real mix of decent independents/alternatives and dipshits. I mean imagine trying to work together with that to form a voting bloc with any influence.

This one's on the people. I'm not saying the ACT always get it right, but they at least were willing to vote for an impressive independent Senator in David Pocock. Nothing stops the other states and territories from doing the same, except themselves.

 

[Rotayjay]

The Sentate saved us from the worst nastiness of the first Joe Hockey budget in 2014 (like putting people under 25 on Youth Allowance and time-limiting their benefits to 6 months at a time). One might even call it the moderating house - it sometimes blocks the passage of left-wing or right-wing laws from the ruling party.

 

[The Punter]

There was enough of a right-wing vote in Victoria in 2022 to get Babet elected. If it wasn't him, it would have been someone like him.

 

[RedStarUncle]

There was enough of a right-wing vote in Victoria in 2022 to get Babet elected. If it wasn't him, it would have been someone like him.

It's a voting system that gives us an approximation to a proportional level of representation for a given particular point of view within the public... which is a good thing. Question shouldn't be why do we put up with the Senate... question should be why do we vote the way we do for Senators?

I find the 6 year terms to be a bit of a problem when we get either someone like Brabet elected as a complete unknown, and now that we know who he is we can't throw him out for a pretty significant run of time. Or in cases like Thorpe and Payman who can now sit as independents for the best part of 6 years after getting elected on the vote for the parties they no longer represent.

 

[Rob R]

This one's on the people. I'm not saying the ACT always get it right, but they at least were willing to vote for an impressive independent Senator in David Pocock. Nothing stops the other states and territories from doing the same, except themselves.

impressive, he ran an impressive campaign but had barely said a word till the electoral reforms impacted on his job. he hasn't much of a hope given the libs finally got rid of Zed the nutter and people remember his silence when the aps were being screwed in pay negotiations.

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