Parliament Sets Record for Skipping Its Own Homework, Since Records Began

Parliament has used urgency to pass more legislation this term than in any since records began in 2008. Parliamentary Library figures show 17.4 percent of bills sent for Royal Assent in the first 940 days of this Parliament went through every stage at once, skipping select committee scrutiny and the public submissions that come with it. The Government maintains this reflects a busy legislative programme rather than an aversion to being asked questions.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister and Attorney-General, disagrees, telling a review of Standing Orders that urgency is being used to avoid select committee scrutiny rather than to cope with volume. He also noted Standing Orders do not require the Government to define what circumstances justify urgency, or allow MPs to debate the reasons given, which is one way of ensuring nobody is proven wrong.

Palmer wants urgency limited to genuine emergencies, a definition previous governments of all stripes have found flexible enough to include most Tuesdays. The record has stood since 2008 and now belongs to this Parliament, which is the kind of record a government would usually announce itself, in a press release, with the number rounded up.