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'Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainity and agitation distinquish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones ... All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.' Marx

democracy in action « Previous | |Next »
August 10, 2006

The Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill, under which all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat would be sent to island detention centres like Nauru for processing, is being debated in Parliament this week. The Federal Government's border protection legislation is widely seen as Australia turning away from protecting individual rights to give into Indonesia demands over the West Papuan refugees.

PettyC5.jpg
Bruce Petty

Though a Liberal/National Coalition-dominated Senate committee recommended in June that the bill not proceed, there has been a lot of pressure to toe the party line. The quote below is from a speech by dissenting Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, in parliament yesterday, on why he'll cross the house floor to vote with Judi Moylan, Petro Georgiou and Russell Broadbent against the government on the migration bill. Two dissenting MP's -- the Liberals Bruce Baird and the Nationals John Forrrest ---abstained from the vote rather than side with Labor.

In his speech to the House Russell Broadbent says:

The path I take today I did not choose. This path chose me. I cannot simply walk away from the agreement reached and legislated nearly 12 months ago. The founder of the Liberal Party, Sir Robert Menzies, built the party on a foundation of plural traditions of free thought and individual conscience. Free thought and individual conscience are not things to be used frivolously, nor taken lightly, but are freedoms that are embodied in the traditions of our party.
The decision I had taken to oppose this legislation, to follow my conscience and vote for the first time, and I hope the last time, against the Government of which I was elected as a member, is made because it is in the long-term national interest of this great south land to continue to be a compassionate protector of the rights of refugees, irrespective of the importance of the close relationship between Australia and one of our neighbours.
I believe there is a potential for this bill to cause serious harm to the progress we have made on this issue as a nation and to the vulnerable people it would affect. I will be voting against these amendments knowing that there are some in my party who do not agree with the "plural tradition" of the Liberal Party and its principles of free thought and individual conscience. Some warn that any dissent is a form of political death. I am no stranger to death. I have suffered defeat four times, but I have also been elected to this house three times. It is not the office of the federal member that is important; it is what you do in office. I take comfort in the words of Dr Martin Luther King: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." This bill is an issue of challenge and controversy.
If I am to die politically because of my stance on this bill, it is better to die on my feet than to live on my knees.

This is border protection in the form of the Pacific Solution. The bill passed 79-62 in the lower house after two days of emotional debate and now goes to the Senate, where the vote next week will be much tighter. It as expected that Victorian Liberal Judith Troeth will cross the floor.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 9:20 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)
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» Question mark over the Liberal Party from Public Opinion
Is this what is happening to the Liberal Party in Australia in the light of this event? Alan Moir Being unliberal means turning your back on the Menzies tradition of the Liberal party. Is this what is happening? That conservatism has taken over?... [Read More]

 
Comments

Comments

are freedoms that are embodied in the traditions of our party.

That fits Brett's notion of Deakinite liberalism being the dominant political strand in Australia.

Cam,
yes that's right about the Liberal tradition in Australia. But it has become a minority tradition within the Liberal Party as is illustrated by the dissent of 4 moderate liberals.

Conservatism has increasingly taken over under John Howard.

Gary, It is more conservative-nationalism than conservatism. The government itself doesnt like openly trampling on social liberties, even if it does reserve the right to do so. But the nationalist stuff is pretty blatent. Then again, in terms of the dominant political entity there is little difference between conservatism and nationalism as both elevate the central government above the individual.

Cam,
conservatism is very strong on nationalism--its all about social cohesion, unity, and patriotism.

Conservatism has always elevated the authority of the state above the rights or freedoms of the individual.