Jacqui Lambie and wildcard senators are not rogues

25 November 2014

Jacqui Lambie has resigned from the Palmer United Party, apologising to the nation for weeks of acrimonious sniping and instability in parliament.

The disintegration of the relationship between the Tasmanian Senator and PUP leader Clive Palmer prompts us to ask what we can properly expect of the new independent senators who took office at the beginning of July, and what they can expect of us as voters and commentators on politics.

On the first question, I suggest they are all doing their best to fulfil their mandates to state voters, and to the nation. Sometimes some of them make poor choices before voting. So, of course, do senators representing one or other of the major parties, including the Greens. But the newbies can also make good voting decisions that add value to our threatened democracy, economy or environment.

On the second question, the answer is simple. We should offer the independent senators – and Clive Palmer – no more and no less respect than we give to senators from the Coalition, Labor or the Greens.

I think we are now failing at this. Regularly. This is concerning, because the independent senators all have strategic votes that are capable of determining the outcome of votes concerning important questions including human rights, climate change, counterterrorism, budget cuts in areas including health, education and the ABC, and more.

If we fall into the now habitual trap of treating the new independent senators or Palmer with mockery or disdain, our democracy and the interests of ordinary people will suffer.

Setting aside the ten Green senators, who have arguably earned respect already, we need to consider what value the other eight crossbench senators bring to the Senate and to our democracy.

Two of them – Xenophon and Madigan – are experienced. Xenophon is almost universally well-regarded, and Madigan is finally earning some grudging respect. But the six new independents, and Palmer, have been copping a sustained bad press from many commentators including some from the ABC.

There are two kinds of critique. First, that they are know-nothing ignoramuses – the result of flaws in the electoral system – who just should not be there. The second is that they are, at heart, right-wingers, vulnerable to being bought by the Coalition when the right bribe comes along. The former critique can be heard from anywhere, the latter comes from the left (from Labor and even, at times, the Greens).

I have not found either critique

AUSTRALIA

Jacqui Lambie and wildcard senators are not rogues

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