Parliament should step up, not shut down, in response to a crisis
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to cancel the first August Parliamentary sitting period will hinder the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and risks undermining Australians’ trust in our leadership at a crucial time.
Alice Drury, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said it was outrageous that seven months after the first case of COVID-19 in Australia was identified, the Australian Government still had no plan in place for Parliament to meet safely through the pandemic.
“A time of crisis is exactly when we need our Parliament to step up, not shut down.”
“There is important business to attend to, including what will happen to JobKeeper and JobSeeker in September. Parliament must continue to sit, in a way that is safe, so it can make decisions in a timely, transparent and accountable manner as the pandemic unfolds.”
“Millions of Australians have worked out how to work remotely and get the job done. The Government has had months to prepare for a second wave, and it is deeply disappointing that its response is, yet again, to just shut down Parliament when we need it most.”
The Morrison Government came under fire in March when it announced it was suspending Parliament for five months. Australia was the only democracy in the world to respond to the COVID-19 crisis by suspending Parliament for such a long time. After significant pressure, the Government agreed to reconvene regular sittings of Parliament again in May.
“Other countries are managing to keep their parliaments going despite very high levels of COVID 19. In the UK and Europe, they have found ways for politicians to sit and vote virtually. There is no excuse for the Australian Government to be this far behind the rest of the world,” said Drury.
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Acknowledgement of Country
The Human Rights Law Centre acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands across Australia, including the lands of the Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Gadigal, Ngunnawal, Cammeraygal, Darug, Wadawurrung, Turrbal and Jagera people where we work from.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present. This land always was, and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
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