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“I was elected by a community that wants transparency and integrity in politics … This decision is bad for democracy and terrible for transparency.”
A One Nation spokesman said reducing staff to a quarter of what it would be would make it “extremely difficult” to properly consider legislation, especially controversial bills that draw a lot of attention from pressure groups and interest groups.
“If you don’t have the right staff, that means this government expects the legislation to be enforced without proper consideration,” the party spokesman said.
“If we don’t have time [to properly consider bills]the default position to be taken by each independent and minor party should be to reject government legislation. “
To get an idea of the scale of the work, he said the Senate had dealt with 160 laws over the past three years.
Other cross offices said it would be catastrophic for their ability to take care of voters and examine legislation. They hoped that the fact that Albanese said he “proposed” the assignment meant she was open to negotiation.
Newly elected independent MP Zoe Daniel, who represents Goldstein’s Victorian headquarters, said: “Welcome to politics. So much for the new era.”
A spokesman for the prime minister’s office said staffing was reviewed after each election.
“In recognition of the expansion of the cross-bank, the government intends to increase the resources of the Library of Parliament that all parliamentarians can use for information, advice, research and analysis of legislation,” he said.
After the so-called green wave emblazoned with the election, the number of independent and minor party MPs in the lower house rose from six to 12. In the Senate, it has been reduced from six to five. If all were assigned the four advisors allowed above, they would be 68 workers.
The number of Greens has also increased, with 12 senators and four deputies, more than the nine party members previously. The Greens have enough members to grant them full party status, which gives them a greater right to staff assignments.
The opposition is allowed a fifth of the number of advisers in its ranks than government ministers and MPs can have.
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