As part of the electoral disclosure regime in NSW, registered political parties are required to disclose funds raised from membership fees and subscriptions.
The following sets out the membership numbers for the years 2014-18 reported to the NSW Electoral Commission by each party represented in the NSW Parliament since 2015. Continue reading “Political Party Memberships in NSW Parliamentary Parties: 2014-18”
Numbers of Ministerial staff at the Commonwealth and each of the states and territories drawn from the most recent, most authoritative source publicly available
Numbers reflect what is reported as ministerial staff in each jurisdiction: so if personal support staff, such as administrative assistants or drivers, have been reported, these are included in the figures below).
Number of Ministers and Office Holders are those numbers reported against the most recent staff numbers, where available.
In a series of Deirdre Chambers-like coincidences, at least three parliamentarians made claims for travel and travel allowances that coincided with election activities in Queensland and NSW towards the end of 2017.
Labor MP (and former Treasurer) Wayne Swan and Pauline Hanson One Nation Senator Brian Burston made claims for tax payer funded travel to or around Queensland on the weekend of that state’s election in November 2017.
The following week, Nationals Senator for NSW, John Williams, claimed travelling allowance for an overnight stay in Tamworth on the evening of the by-election in New England that saw Barnaby Joyce returned to Parliament after his disqualification in the High Court. Continue reading “MP travel claims and elections: Were the rules broken or stretched?”
The decision of Nauru to bring to an end its relationship with Australia’s High Court, as the ultimate appeals authority for a limited class of cases, marks the end of a 50 year history in which Nauru made strenuous efforts to have access to the Court, only to suffer tepid and lukewarm acceptance, and delays (and on one occasion, defeat) in achieving its aim of having access to an appeals court of sufficient stature to instil confidence in the judicial proceedings of a small, fledgling nation.
The ten year history of negotiations for an appeals court is detailed in a series of volumes held in the National Archives of Australia. This history is drawn from that rich vein of material. Continue reading “How the Australian High Court Came to be Nauru’s Court of Appeal: A History”
Numbers of Ministerial staff drawn from the most recent, most authoritative source publicly available
Numbers reflect what is reported as ministerial staff in each jurisdiction: so if personal support staff, such as administrative assistants or drivers, have been reported, these are included in the figures).
Continue reading “Numbers of Ministerial Staff in Australia – As at April 2018”
[Updated on 27 February 2018 to incorporate material canvassed at Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee Estimates on the evening of 26 February]
Philip Ruddock, Chair of the Federal Government’s Panel on Religious Freedom, is being paid $1440 a day for the role, according to documents tabled this week on behalf of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC).
The rate is equal to the highest daily fee paid to holders of part time office, and is well in excess of the daily fee paid to such office holders as the chairs of the Administrative Law Council, Family Law Council and National Mental Health Commission.
Ruddock, entitled to a Parliamentary pension estimated to be worth $215,000 a year, also attracts a mayoral allowance of $65,230 in his capacity as Mayor of Hornsby, after his election to that position in September 2017.
On being appointed to the religious freedom role, Ruddock reportedly told Sky News that “he did not know if he was getting paid for the role and he was not interested in the money.” Continue reading “Philip Ruddock on $1440 a day to inquire into freedom of religion”
The choice for New South Wales’ Ombudsman in 1987 came down to a senior Departmental head and a solicitor with a familiar name in Labor circles; the latter promising a less contested relationship between the government and the Ombudsman’s Office after years of strife between the two.
Cabinet papers for the NSW Government, recently released under the “30 year rule” still applicable in NSW, offer an insight into the appointment of David Landa as NSW’s third Ombudsman.
While the selection panel narrowed the eventual choice to Landa, a prominent solicitor with strong Labor connections, and Trevor Haines, the then Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, an impressive shortlist was interviewed, with gender and (relative) youth no bar to inclusion.
However, reducing the eventual choice to Landa and Haines seemingly reflected a desire to create a more harmonious relationship between government and watchdog than existed during the term of George Masterman, QC, who held the post between 1981 and 1987. Continue reading “Choosing an Ombudsman: Revelations from the 1987 NSW Cabinet Papers”
The section 44 juggernaut just keeps rolling. The next substantive question likely to come before the court, as a consequence of Jacqui Lambie’s disqualification on dual citizenship grounds, is whether her likely replacement, Devonport mayor, Steve Martin, is himself disqualified, for holding an “office of profit under the Crown”, with respect to his office in local government. Martin maintains that he is on solid ground, citing advice given by the then Clerk of the Senate ahead of the 2016 election.
Indeed, history suggests he has a strong case. Continue reading “Section 44: Is elected local government office an “office of profit under the Crown”?”
A question barely considered in the ongoing section 44 crisis is what would be the outcome of the filling of places for which Senators were disqualified where they held a six year term, rather than a three year term, following last year’s Double Dissolution election. Would any of the new Senators, elected after a special recount, be entitled to a seat that would not see them go to re-election until 2021-22?
It seems this question has not even considered by the WA Greens, who put their newest Senator, Jordon Steele-John, through a fresh pre-selection at the weekend, even though the highly likely outcome of the High Court’s ruling on him replacing Scott Ludlam is that he now doesn’t have to face voters for up to five years. Continue reading “How the WA Greens conducted a pre-selection for the wrong Senator”
Observers of the Senate debate on the marriage equality were left puzzled and bemused in equal measure yesterday when Pauline Hanson One Nation Senator for NSW, Brian Burston, made a comparison between water and ethanol to argue against marriage equality.
Burston, now the second most senior PHON Senator after the departure of Malcolm Roberts, has a relatively low profile, but his party biography touts his background in trades and higher education, culminating in a four year stint at Newcastle University.
Having gone over Burston’s speech – with, if not a fine-tooth comb, then a hair brush with big bristles – I’d say he’d find himself in some difficulty if his contribution was measured against any academic integrity policy.
Just about every segment of his speech – including the notorious water/ethanol comparison – was lifted word for word or cribbed without attribution from a handful of sources. Continue reading “Cut and Paste: One Nation Senator’s “Ethanol” Speech on Marriage Equality Bill”
Boilermaker Bill's Rum Hospital 