Senators and MPs who leave parties may be criticised for betraying their voters but forcing them out would endanger our very democracy
Lidia Thorpe’s resignation from the Greens has sparked a debate about whether senators should be able to switch parties or become independents and remain in parliament.Lidia Thorpe’s resignation from the Greens has sparked a debate about whether senators should be able to switch parties or become independents and remain in parliament.Last modified on Fri 17 Feb 2023 19.01 GMTilly Hughes was an extraordinary Australian politician.
Thorpe’s decision to leave the Greens has, however, sparked a renewed debate about whether senators should be able to switch parties or become independents and remain in the parliament. The chair of the Centre for Public Integrity and a former supreme court judge, Anthony Whealy, summarised these arguments when he was quoted as saying this week that “the overriding concept should be that the will of the people should prevail”. He added: “Where a particular senator simply splits from their party but wants to remain in the Senate … then I think that’s a rebuff to the democratic system.
The key pillar for those arguing for change is that senators are, in most cases, elected from party lists and voters are casting a ballot for that party, its policies and values. While in reality this is probably so for a large majority of voters, our whole system of representative democracy is founded on the concept of individuals being elected to the parliament to exercise their best judgment on matters that come before it.
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