What do Australians think about government control of the Senate?
Shaun Wilson, Australian National University For some time, we have known that the government is unhappy with the Senate’s obstructive ways. Certainly, the Senate has rejected some of the government’s favourite legislation, particularly its unfair dismissals legislation, for a third time. So when Prime Minister John Howard criticised the Senate for holding up his government’s work, he only repeated his predecessor’s anger at the Senate, on the memorable occasion when Keating called it ‘unrepresentative swill’. Howard claims: ‘Tragically for Australia the Australian Senate in recent years, so far from being a state’s house or a house of review, has become a house of obstruction’ (Howard 2003). His proposed remedy would allow joint sittings of parliament without a double dissolution should the government’s legislation be rejected twice (2003). The Australian Labor Party may end up supporting the proposal, drawing on lingering bitterness towards the Senate for its role in the 1975 constit
