Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, Hugh Mahon was dismissed as a representative through a partisan process according to a vote on party lines when the conservative government of the day took issue with Mr Mahon's views in relation to the question of Irish independence. He'd given a speech at an event in Melbourne in which he expressed sympathy for the circumstances of the people in Ireland who wanted to be free of British rule, and he supported calls for an Australian republic. At the public meeting, support was provided for three motions or propositions, the last of which read:

That this meeting of Australian citizens, in view of the policy of oppression and tyranny pursued by the English Government in Ireland, and which has brought eternal disgrace upon the whole British Empire, of which Australia forms a part, pledges its support to any movement for the establishment of an Australian republic.

It was in the next parliament sitting week that Prime Minister Billy Hughes responded by moving a motion of his own that read:

That, in the opinion of this House, the honorable Member for Kalgoorlie, the Honorable Hugh Mahon, having, by seditious and disloyal utterances at a public meeting on Sunday last, been guilty of conduct unfitting him to remain a Member of this House and inconsistent with the oath of allegiance which he has taken as a Member of this House, be expelled this House.

The motion was voted upon. Votes were cast on party lines, and Hugh Mahon, who was not even able to be present for the vote, was expelled.

It would seem absolutely extraordinary to Australians today to think that a member of this place would be expelled for noting and endorsing the aspirations of people elsewhere, in terms of their self-determination, or that a person would be expelled for expressing support for the concept of an Australian republic. Of course, a recent prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was not just a supporter of the Australian republic; he was a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement in 1991.

Hugh Mahon, having been expelled, lost the subsequent by-election and the injustice done to him has never been officially acknowledged. The dangerous partisan expulsion that was inflicted on Hugh Mahon, and effectively inflicted on the people of Kalgoorlie who had elected him, was a harm that was never specifically cured. Thankfully, the process by which Hugh Mahon was so badly mistreated can no longer occur, so at least it has been cured as a general ill. I say 'dangerous' because it should never be the case that the government of the day can expel properly elected members from this place simply because they choose to express opinions with which the government disagrees. That is profoundly antidemocratic.

In truth, the expulsion of Hugh Mahon was a disgrace. The then Leader of the Labor Party, Frank Tudor, said at the time:

Parliament is not a proper tribunal to try a charge of sedition arising from the exercise of civilian rights of free speech at a public assembly of citizens.

It's also a reminder that we should take great care with respecting the rights of all Australians, including parliamentary representatives, to hold and express views that may not suit the prevailing or ruling position, providing, of course, that we participate in debate without descending to incitement, threats, accusations or other kinds of speech that cannot be considered responsible.

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