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Political Chronicles

Political Chronicles July to December 2005 JOHN WANNA The Australian National University and Griffith University Howard Government Seizes Control of the Senate: But Not All is Plain Sailing The Howard Government’s majority in the Senate came into effect in July 2005, giving the government the control of both houses for the first time since 1982. The government held only the slimmest of majorities — effectively of one seat — commanding thirty-nine seats to Labor’s twenty-eight, the Greens four, the Democrats four and Family First one. If the Coalition senators voted en bloc they commanded thirty-eight votes on the floor to the combined opposition of thirty-seven, but if just one government senator crossed the floor the government would lose the vote by 37:38 (as the Coalition had to provide the President and that senator only voted in the event of a tie). This empowered virtually every Coalition senator, and some Nationals were quick to exploit the opportunity (or at least talk up the prospects of empowerment). Although the Coalition announced it would not allow its unexpected victory in the Senate go to its collective heads, it soon disregarded this undertaking. The government showed it was determined to exercise the power to http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian Journal of Politics and History Wiley

Political Chronicles

Australian Journal of Politics and History , Volume 52 (2) – Jun 1, 2006
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0004-9522
eISSN
1467-8497
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.00420.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

July to December 2005 JOHN WANNA The Australian National University and Griffith University Howard Government Seizes Control of the Senate: But Not All is Plain Sailing The Howard Government’s majority in the Senate came into effect in July 2005, giving the government the control of both houses for the first time since 1982. The government held only the slimmest of majorities — effectively of one seat — commanding thirty-nine seats to Labor’s twenty-eight, the Greens four, the Democrats four and Family First one. If the Coalition senators voted en bloc they commanded thirty-eight votes on the floor to the combined opposition of thirty-seven, but if just one government senator crossed the floor the government would lose the vote by 37:38 (as the Coalition had to provide the President and that senator only voted in the event of a tie). This empowered virtually every Coalition senator, and some Nationals were quick to exploit the opportunity (or at least talk up the prospects of empowerment). Although the Coalition announced it would not allow its unexpected victory in the Senate go to its collective heads, it soon disregarded this undertaking. The government showed it was determined to exercise the power to

Journal

Australian Journal of Politics and History – Wiley

Published: Jun 1, 2006

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