Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

BRIAN MITCHELL () (): I will make a short contribution, I hope, on the Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022. The flame of democracy is a fragile thing. We often focus on threats from without, but the threats from within can be just as real and just as damaging. The tension between our parliament and our executive is real and it's deliberate. We must protect our democracy, and the actions of the member for Cook, the former Prime Minister, served to undermine that protection. It's the responsibility of every member here and, indeed, of every senator in the other place to nurture the flame of democracy, not to seek to snuff it out—not to seek to bulldoze it, if I can use that term.

Now, I do recognise that some regard parliamentary democracy as an annoying hindrance to getting things done—to the executive just wanting to get their job done—but it is so essential. Democracy is an aim in and of itself—the idea, the notion, the dream, the vision of government of the people, by the people, for the people. It is an end in and of itself. It is as valuable to our society as trains running on time and roads being built. The actions by the member for Cook served to undermine the principles of our democracy and make our democracy weaker. The actions that we are taking today seek to strengthen our democracy and its foundations. The member for Cook, by his actions in appointing himself to a number of portfolios in secret, displayed a contempt for this place and its role, and that's been canvassed fully. The pandemic is no excuse. Australia is no stranger to crisis. We have suffered wars, we have suffered the Spanish flu pandemic, we have suffered droughts and floods. COVID was a convenient excuse for the former Prime Minister to do what he wanted to do because he thought it was the best way to get the job done as he saw fit. He had no respect for the role of this chamber and its place in our democracy.

I am deeply troubled by the fact that there have been so few speakers from the other side—indeed I have seen none listed, though I'm happy to be corrected if there have been speakers on this from the other side. Those opposite, by staying silent, are failing to stand up for our democracy and failing to stand up for the protection of it. Those on the other side are supposed to be the conservatives, the guardians of tradition, the guardians of institutions. Instead what we saw with the former Prime Minister in his contribution in defending his role in doing this was a conga line of so-called conservatives pretty much kissing his ring and saying, 'Job well done, mate.' So few have stood up in this place to defend our democracy.

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