Parnell-Bressington filibuster
Encyclopedia
The Parnell-Bressington filibuster is a record-breaking filibuster
that occurred in the South Australia
n upper house, the Legislative Council
, on 8 May 2008, involving SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell
and No Pokies
MLC Ann Bressington
.
The South Australian workers compensation
scheme known as WorkCover
had been suffering an underfunded liability blowout since 2000, and by 2008 was nearing toward $1 billion. Legislation created to rectify the situation meant that injured workers payments would be cut by 10 percent after 13 weeks, 20 percent after 26 weeks, and end workers compensation payments and reverting to Centrelink
benefits after two and a half years, if a person is deemed to have any capacity to work. Both the governing Labor Party
and the main opposition Liberal Party
were supportive of the changes, and with eight members each in the 22-member upper house, numbers were not an issue. The cross-bench was made up of two Family First
, two No Pokies
, one Democrat
, and one Green.
Considering themselves the opposition to this legislation, Parnell spoke for over eight hours, with Bressington speaking for another five hours. Allowing for lunch and dinner breaks, Parnell started at 11am and finished at 11pm. Bressington went from 11pm to 4am straight. Parnell's eight hour contribution alone set a record filibuster in South Australian parliamentary history, and combined, set a record nationally in any Australian parliament. Parnell alone fell short of the record, Albert Gardiner
's effort of 12 hours and 40 minutes in the Australian Senate
in 1918. The world record is held by US Senator Strom Thurmond
who filibustered against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
Reported to be full at all times, the chamber heard Parnell present his own analysis and then related the submissions from the union movement
and stories from injured workers. Some media outlets reported that Parnell read the entire WorkCover Bill into the public record. An examination of the official Hansard record of the debate shows that this is incorrect and that Parnell read none of the Bill during his speech. Parnell has also denied the charge of "filibuster", especially since his contribution did not delay the Bill and it still passed within the timeframe set by the Government. He described the bill as the most important he had dealt with since entering the parliament at the March 2006 state election:
SA Unions
Secretary Janet Giles, who resigned her position on the WorkCover board in protest to the changes, applauded the actions.
The filibuster used up the last sitting day, however it did not substantially delay the passage of the Bill. The most substantial part of the debate - the Committee Stage - took place two weeks later (commencing on the next scheduled sitting day) and went for 3 days including the consideration of nearly 200 amendments. The Bill finally passed 14 votes to four with one pair, and one Family First abstaining. Parnell stated:
Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright
said in reply:
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
that occurred in the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n upper house, the Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
, on 8 May 2008, involving SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
and No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
MLC Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
.
The South Australian workers compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
scheme known as WorkCover
WorkCoverSA
WorkCoverSA, commonly known in South Australia as WorkCover, is a government authority established by the Government of South Australia.It is has three functions:* Policing occupational health and safety legislation* Providing worker's compensation...
had been suffering an underfunded liability blowout since 2000, and by 2008 was nearing toward $1 billion. Legislation created to rectify the situation meant that injured workers payments would be cut by 10 percent after 13 weeks, 20 percent after 26 weeks, and end workers compensation payments and reverting to Centrelink
Centrelink
Centrelink is the trading name of the Commonwealth Service Delivery Agency , a statutory authority responsible for delivering human services on behalf of agencies of the Commonwealth Government of Australia. The majority of Centrelink's services are the disbursement of social security payments...
benefits after two and a half years, if a person is deemed to have any capacity to work. Both the governing Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and the main opposition Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
were supportive of the changes, and with eight members each in the 22-member upper house, numbers were not an issue. The cross-bench was made up of two Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
, two No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
, one Democrat
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, and one Green.
Considering themselves the opposition to this legislation, Parnell spoke for over eight hours, with Bressington speaking for another five hours. Allowing for lunch and dinner breaks, Parnell started at 11am and finished at 11pm. Bressington went from 11pm to 4am straight. Parnell's eight hour contribution alone set a record filibuster in South Australian parliamentary history, and combined, set a record nationally in any Australian parliament. Parnell alone fell short of the record, Albert Gardiner
Albert Gardiner
Albert Gardiner was an Australian Labor Party politician. He held the distinction of being the party's sole Senator between 1920 and 1922....
's effort of 12 hours and 40 minutes in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
in 1918. The world record is held by US Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
who filibustered against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, , primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction following the American Civil War.Following the historic US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v...
for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
Reported to be full at all times, the chamber heard Parnell present his own analysis and then related the submissions from the union movement
Australian labour movement
The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both trade unions and political activity. At its broadest, the movement can be defined as encompassing the industrial wing, the unions in Australia, and the political wing, the Australian Labor Party and minor...
and stories from injured workers. Some media outlets reported that Parnell read the entire WorkCover Bill into the public record. An examination of the official Hansard record of the debate shows that this is incorrect and that Parnell read none of the Bill during his speech. Parnell has also denied the charge of "filibuster", especially since his contribution did not delay the Bill and it still passed within the timeframe set by the Government. He described the bill as the most important he had dealt with since entering the parliament at the March 2006 state election:
I planned to speak for a long time. I didn't know how long it would be but in the end I cut it down. Had I gone through all the material that I could have, it would have been twice as long. But I knew I was pushing the boundaries of parliamentary convention. No-one goes for that long, it's not normally regarded as polite.
SA Unions
United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia
The United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia, also known as SA Unions, is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a Labour council, in the State of South Australia...
Secretary Janet Giles, who resigned her position on the WorkCover board in protest to the changes, applauded the actions.
The voice of workers in this debate has been ignored and then silenced as the Premier tries to ram the WorkCover Bill through Parliament. If it wasn't for the cross bench members in the Upper House the impact this law will have on injured workers and their families would never have been considered.
The filibuster used up the last sitting day, however it did not substantially delay the passage of the Bill. The most substantial part of the debate - the Committee Stage - took place two weeks later (commencing on the next scheduled sitting day) and went for 3 days including the consideration of nearly 200 amendments. The Bill finally passed 14 votes to four with one pair, and one Family First abstaining. Parnell stated:
This is a sad day for South Australia... this is the worst piece of legislation I have seen in my time here. This is a horrible legacy the government is leaving this state.
Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright
Michael Wright (Australian politician)
Michael John Wright is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Lee since 1997....
said in reply:
These reforms... ensure the longevity of a healthy and economically viable workers compensation scheme for generations of workers to come.