Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Waters, move:

(1) That the Senate notes that:

(a) the legislative power of the Commonwealth is vested in a Federal Parliament;

(b) this power is exercised through a vote in each chamber of the Parliament;

(c) a senator can influence the outcome of a vote by sitting on the 'yes' or 'no' side of the Senate chamber, by having themselves paired, or by being absent from the vote;

(d) pairing, which is not publicly recorded, masks if a senator is paired as a 'yes' or 'no' and this situation is exacerbated with other parties and independents who have no-one present in the chamber for the vote or if a senator decided to abstain (including a senator who decides to abstain in contrast to their party's vote or a senator who had indicated publicly they will vote in a particular way and then changes their mind);

(e) only Government and Opposition parties are aware of pairing arrangements, with votes being taken without other parties and independent senators being informed or appraised of how individual senators are paired; and

(f) every Australian has the right to see how each of their Senate representatives has influenced the outcome of a vote.

(2) That all parties and independent senators be included in the existing whips pairing sheet arrangements.

(3) That this matter be referred to the Procedure Committee for inquiry and report by 2 December 2021.