2008 Parnell–Bressington filibuster
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The Parnell–Bressington filibuster is a record-breaking
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
that occurred in the
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n upper house, the Legislative Council, on 8 May 2008, involving
SA Greens Australian Greens SA is a green political party located in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party. The party has four members in the federal and state parliaments: Sarah Hanson-Y ...
MLC
Mark Parnell Mark Charles Parnell (born 9 September 1959) is an Australian former politician and parliamentary leader of the SA Greens in the South Australian Legislative Council. He was the first SA Greens representative to be elected to the Parliament of ...
and
No Pokies No Pokies was an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that ran upper house candidates at the 1997, 2002 and 2006 state elections. Poker machines or "pokies" are the Australian version of slot machines. It was replaced by the Nic ...
MLC
Ann Bressington Ann Marie Bressington (born 12 September 1955) is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his Independent No Pokies ticket. H ...
. The South Australian
workers compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
scheme known as WorkCover had been suffering an underfunded liability blowout since 2000, and by 2008 was nearing toward $1 billion. Legislation created to rectify the situation meant that injured workers payments would be cut by 10 percent after 13 weeks, 20 percent after 26 weeks, and end workers compensation payments and reverting to
Centrelink The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carer ...
benefits after two and a half years, if a person is deemed to have any capacity to work. Both the governing Labor Party and the main opposition
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
were supportive of the changes, and with eight members each in the 22-member upper house, numbers were not an issue. The
crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
was made up of two Family First, two
No Pokies No Pokies was an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that ran upper house candidates at the 1997, 2002 and 2006 state elections. Poker machines or "pokies" are the Australian version of slot machines. It was replaced by the Nic ...
, one
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, and one
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. Considering themselves the opposition to this legislation, Parnell spoke for over eight hours, with Bressington speaking for another five hours. Allowing for lunch and dinner breaks, Parnell started at 11 am and finished at 11 pm. Bressington went from 11 pm to 4 am straight. Parnell's eight-hour contribution alone set a record filibuster in South Australian parliamentary history, and combined, set a record nationally in any Australian parliament. Parnell alone fell short of the record,
Albert Gardiner Albert "Jupp" Gardiner (30 July 1867 – 14 August 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1910 to 1926 and again briefly in 1928. A member of the Labor Party, he served in cabinet as Vice-President ...
's effort of 12 hours and 40 minutes in the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
in 1918. The world record is held by US Senator
Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...
who
filibustered A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
against the
Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwigh ...
for 24 hours and 18 minutes. Reported to be full at all times, the chamber heard Parnell present his own analysis and then related the submissions from the
union movement The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Unio ...
and stories from injured workers. Some media outlets reported that Parnell read the entire WorkCover Bill into the public record. An examination of the official Hansard record of the debate shows that this is incorrect and that Parnell read none of the Bill during his speech. Parnell has also denied the charge of "filibuster", especially since his contribution did not delay the Bill and it still passed within the timeframe set by the Government. He described the bill as the most important he had dealt with since entering the parliament at the March 2006 state election:
I planned to speak for a long time. I didn't know how long it would be but in the end I cut it down. Had I gone through all the material that I could have, it would have been twice as long. But I knew I was pushing the boundaries of parliamentary convention. No-one goes for that long, it's not normally regarded as polite.
SA Unions SA Unions (originally the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia) is the peak body for trade unions in South Australia. It coordinates political, social, economic, and industrial campaigns between its affiliate members and implements ...
Secretary Janet Giles, who resigned her position on the WorkCover board in protest to the changes, applauded the actions.
The voice of workers in this debate has been ignored and then silenced as the Premier tries to ram the WorkCover Bill through Parliament. If it wasn't for the cross bench members in the Upper House the impact this law will have on injured workers and their families would never have been considered.
The filibuster used up the last sitting day, however it did not substantially delay the passage of the Bill. The most substantial part of the debate – the Committee Stage – took place two weeks later (commencing on the next scheduled sitting day) and went for 3 days including the consideration of nearly 200 amendments. The Bill finally passed 14 votes to four with one pair, and one Family First abstaining. Parnell stated:
This is a sad day for South Australia... this is the worst piece of legislation I have seen in my time here. This is a horrible legacy the government is leaving this state.
Industrial Relations Minister
Michael Wright Michael Wright may refer to: Sportspeople *Michael Wright (Australian footballer) (born 1959), former VFL footballer for South Melbourne *Michael Wright (basketball) (1980–2015), murdered American–Turkish basketball player *Michael Wright (cycl ...
said in reply:
These reforms... ensure the longevity of a healthy and economically viable workers compensation scheme for generations of workers to come.


References


SA MPs in record-breaking filibuster: Sydney Morning Herald 9/5/2008MPs talk for 13 hours to stall WorkCover Bill: The Advertiser 9/5/2008MPs set 13-hour filibuster record: The Australian 9/5/2008
* ttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2239692.htm Long-winded MP sets 8-hour record: Australian Broadcasting Corporation 9/5/2008br>Australian lawmaker talks for 8 hours to delay bill: MSN News 9/5/2008Marathon speech delays House bill: Associated Press 8/5/2008Filibuster Record a Real Mouthful: Shortnews 9/5/2008Greens MP makes 8-hour speech, record set: Scopical 9/5/2008Independents and Greens defend workers rights in face of government bullying: SA Unions 9/5/2008
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110813123805/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/talkfest-as-workcover-lies-bleeding/story-e6freabl-1111116297057 Advertiser Editorial: Talkfest as WorkCover lies bleeding: AdelaideNow 10/5/2008]
Minor parties fail to amend WorkCover Bill: ABC 5/6/2008MPs pass WorkCover changes: The Advertiser 6/6/2008


External links


Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Scheme Review) Amendment Bill 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Parnell-Bressington filibuster Parnell-bressington Filibuster, 2008 Parnell-bressington Filibuster, 2008 Politics of South Australia Filibuster 2000s in South Australia May 2008 events in Australia