CCF – The Senate

During a pandemic, when lives are at risk, we want the Government to protect us, no matter what. This raises important public policy questions. Should we still strictly apply the law, or does an emergency justify a Government acting outside the law?

In the 2019 April 2 Budget the Prime Minister stated that Australians would get a tax cut this financial year. For many people this was to be a tax offset of $1080.

There are two things that many people believe stabilises the political system in Australia when we go to vote. These are compulsory voting and our preferential voting system. We’ve had preferential voting federally since 1918, and many of us view it as quite normal.

This week Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John announced that he will introduce a Private Members Bill in the Senate seeking to lower the age of voters for federal elections to 16.

The timing of elections is stipulated in our Constitution. Section 13 of the Constitution states that Senate elections must be held within one year of the places becoming vacant.

On Wednesday South Australian Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore addressed the media to let us all know she is a dual British and Australian citizen.

The citizenship saga/issue/crisis continues. Almost every day one or two MP’s or Senators are outed in the media for having a parent born in some other country.

This week Greens Leader Richard Di Natale announced that the Greens Party would table, debate and vote on Charter of Rights legislation in the 45th Parliament.

Earlier this week it was reported that the Department of Finance had written to Rod Culleton to let him know he’ll have to repay his salary and his staff’s salary, plus superannuation and travel expenses for the time he was in the Senate.