Since July 2022, there have been 118 instances of MPs being ejected from the House of Representatives during Question Time, with 93% of these ejections involving male MPs. Notable frequent offenders include Coalition spokesperson Michael Sukkar and Liberal backbencherTony Pasin. The Albanese government, despite its commitment to improving parliamentary conduct, has delayed the establishment of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) to address such issues until at least October 2024, as stated by Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher.[4][5]
Major events and legislation
The Climate Change Act 2022 passed the parliament on 8 September 2022, having been approved by the House by 86 votes to 50 and the Senate by 37 votes to 30. The legislation codifies a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 (on 2005 levels), requires the Climate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against those targets, mandates that the Minister for Climate Change reports annually to Parliament on Australia's progress, and forces federal government agencies to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Act.[6][7][8]
The Social Security Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 September 2022, having passed the House by 86 votes to 56 and the Senate by 33 votes to 26.[9][10] The legislation repealed the mandatory Cashless Welfare Card, originally introduced as a trial in 2016 for 12,500 people across four trial sites, which quarantined around 80% of a person's income so it could not be spent on alcohol or gambling or withdrawn in cash. As a result of the legislative change, participants could opt out of the scheme, though around 4,300 people in the Northern Territory and Cape York remained on the card prior to the introduction of a compulsory income-management scheme in 2023.[11]
The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 November 2022. The legislation implemented seven of the recommendations of the Kate Jenkins-authored Respect@Work report into sexual harassment. Among other reforms, the laws impose a positive onus on employers to take steps to demonstrate that they're proactively attempting to eliminate sex discrimination "as far as possible". In addition, victimising conduct can be the basis of a civil, not just criminal, complaint, and public sector agencies are newly required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as occurs with private sector agencies.[12]
The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 passed the parliament on 30 November 2022. The legislation established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent federal agency equipped with the power to investigate Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff for corrupt or improper behaviour.[13][14]
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 2 December 2022.[15] The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 80 votes to 56[16] and passed the Senate by 35 votes to 31.[17] The workplace relations reforms introduce multi-employer bargaining, allow the Fair Work Commission to authorise workers with sufficient common interests to bargain together and abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission.[18][19] The legislation passed with the support of the Greens and Senator David Pocock, who each won government support for an enforceable right to request unpaid parental leave and measures to prevent a loophole in the better-off-overall test in the legislation, as well as the creation of a statutory advisory committee of experts to provide independent advice concerning "economic inclusion" of lower-income people, welfare recipients and cost-of-living relief.[20]
The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 passed the parliament on 1 December 2022. The legislation, which abolished the federal ban on the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory legislatures passing laws to permit euthanasia schemes (originally passed in 1997) was subject to a conscience vote for most parties. It was approved by 99 votes to 37 in the House of Representatives and by 41 votes to 25 in the Senate.[21][22][23]
The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 passed the parliament on 30 March 2023. The legislation passed with the support of the Labor government, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and independent crossbenchers in both chambers, following intense negotiations between the parties. In effect, 215 of the country's major polluting facilities are required to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, through absolute cuts or by buying carbon offsets. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time.[24] The legislation passed the Senate by 32 votes to 26 and the House by 89 votes to 50, with the Liberal/National Coalition, One Nation and United Australia parties opposed to the reforms.[25][26]
The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 proposed alteration to the Constitution of Australia passed the parliament on 19 June 2023. It passed by 121 votes to 25 in the House of Representatives and by 52 votes to 19 in the Senate. It enabled a referendum to occur in the latter months of 2023, to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, which would have an advisory power to consult with the parliament and Executive Government on matters and legislation affecting Indigenous Australians.[27][28]
The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 passed the parliament on 14 September 2023. The legislation established the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund-type scheme to enable the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years. A guaranteed $500 million is to be spent per year from the fund, while a minimum of 1,200 homes are to be built in each state and territory across the period.[29] The legislation's passage was achieved after the government won the support of the Greens, who negotiated an extra $1 billion for public and community housing from the government, though failed to win support for a national freeze or caps on rents.[30] Several months prior to the legislation's passage, the government made a $2 billion separate one-off announcement for social housing through a "social housing accelerator" scheme.[31]
In January 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government had approved changes to the Stage 3 income tax cuts, originally passed by the Morrison government during the 46th Parliament and set to come into effect on 1 July 2024. Under the new scheme, the flattening of the tax rate for all income between $45,000 and $200,000 to 30% will be overturned through the restoration of the 37% tax rate, income earners above $150,000 will have their tax cuts progressively reduced to as much as half of the original cut, whilst earners up to $150,000 will have a larger cut than proposed under the previous government.[32][33] To this effect, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 was approved by the parliament on 27 February 2024.[34]
On the final sitting day before the winter parliamentary break, the Albanese Government experienced its first legislative defeat in the 47th Parliament when a proposed Defence Amendment Bill was voted down in the Senate. The bill aimed to establish a parliamentary committee with broad investigative powers into Defence spending, but was rejected due to opposition from both government and coalition members, who resisted including cross-bench representation. Greens Senator David Shoebridge criticized the persistent issues with Defence procurement, citing significant failures and cost overruns in submarine, frigate, and offshore patrol vessel projects. The bill's defeat left Defence's extensive budget and procurement practices with minimal oversight, highlighting ongoing concerns about accountability and management within the department.[35]
The 47th Parliament of Australia has a historically high representation of women; women make up 38% of the House of Representatives and 57% of the Senate, the highest on record for both chambers.[38] In terms of representation, Indigenous members will account for 9.6 per cent of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9 per cent of 151 House of Representatives seats.[39]
Despite these advancements, Parliament does not fully mirror the Australian population. Women, who hold a slight majority in the general population, are still underrepresented in Parliament. The average age of MPs is higher than the national median of 38. Representation of culturally diverse backgrounds is also limited, with only 6.6% of MPs having non-European ancestry compared to 23% of the general population, and 4.4% of MPs having Asian heritage versus 18% of Australians. Indigenous representation has increased, with eight Indigenous senators and three Indigenous MPs, totaling 4.8% of the Parliament, which is higher than the Indigenous population percentage of 3.3%. Despite these advances, Australia's parliamentary representation continues to lag behind countries such as Canada and New Zealand in terms of gender and cultural diversity.[40][41][42]
The Liberal Party's representation of women has declined, with only 9 seats compared to 13 in the previous parliament. In contrast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet is the most diverse in Australian history, featuring 10 women out of 23 cabinet ministers, with several holding prominent positions such as Penny Wong in foreign affairs and Linda Burney as the first female Indigenous cabinet minister.[43][44][45]
Senate
The Senate included 32 men and 44 women, the most women to date.[46]
40 of the 76 seats in the upper house were contested in the election in May 2022. The class of senators elected in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk (*).
House of Representatives
All 151 seats in the lower house were contested in the election in May 2022.
Changes in membership
Senate
This table lists senators who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
House of Representatives
This table lists members of the House who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
^ a bScott Morrison, Liberal MP for Cook, resigned on 28 February 2024. The resulting by-election was won by Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy on 13 April 2024.
^ a bJim Molan, Liberal senator for Victoria, died in office on 16 January 2023. His successor, Maria Kovacic, was appointed as his replacement on 31 May 2023.
^Lidia Thorpe, senator for Victoria, resigned from the Greens on 6 February 2023 to sit as an independent.
^David Van, senator for Victoria, resigned from the Liberal Party on 17 June 2023 to sit as an independent.
^ a bMarise Payne, Liberal senator for New South Wales, resigned on 30 September 2023. Her successor, Dave Sharma, was appointed as her replacement on 30 November 2023.
^ a bPat Dodson, Labor senator for Western Australia, resigned on 26 January 2024. His successor, Varun Ghosh, was appointed as his replacement on 1 February 2024.
^ a bLinda White, Labor senator for Victoria, died in office on 29 February 2024. Her successor, Lisa Darmanin, was appointed as her replacement on 29 May 2024.
^Tammy Tyrrell, senator for Tasmania, resigned from the Jacqui Lambie Network on 28 March 2024 to sit as an independent.
^ a bJanet Rice, Greens senator for Victoria, resigned on 19 April 2024. Her successor, Steph Hodgins-May, was appointed as her replacement on 1 May 2024.
^Fatima Payman, senator for Western Australia, resigned from Labor on 4 July 2024 to sit as an independent.
^Gerard Rennick, senator for Queensland, resigned from the Liberal Party on 25 August 2024 to sit as an independent.
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^Andrew Brown (26 July 2022). "MPs sworn in as 47th parliament opened". The Canberra Times.
^Cleal, Olivia (3 January 2024). "Male MPs kicked out 109 times during Question Time". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^Sakkal, Olivia Ireland, Paul (3 January 2024). "Rowdy House: Most-ejected MPs in parliament make no apology". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Asha Barbaschow (9 September 2022). "Your 4-Minute Briefing on the Australian Government's Climate Change Bill". Gizmodo AU.
^Adam Morton (8 September 2022). "Australian parliament passes first climate change legislation in a decade". Guardian Australia.
^Emily Bennett & Daniel Jeffrey (8 September 2022). "Federal government's historic climate change bill passes parliament to legislate emissions reduction target". 9 News.
^"Hansard - Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Repeal of Cashless Debit Card and Other Measures) Bill 2022 - Third Reading - Division". aph.gov.au. 3 August 2022.
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^Tom Lowrey (17 June 2023). "Federal government to spend $2 billion on social housing around Australia". ABC News.
^Stuart Marsh (25 January 2024). "'A tax cut for every Australian taxpayer': Anthony Albanese unveils stage 3 tax cut changes". 9 News.
^Josh Nicholas (25 January 2024). "Stage-three tax cuts: how the Albanese government's changes will affect you". The Guardian.
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