Politicians should run for parliament, not from it

By attempting to shield his government from the complexity and acrimony of parliament, Malcolm Turnbull has only added to his political woes. The sudden announcement yesterday that the government would scrap next week’s scheduled sitting of the House of Representatives always was going to be interpreted only one way: a depleted government under siege is running away. The decision by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House, Christopher Pyne, was ostensibly to prevent the lower house sitting idle while waiting for the Senate to finalise a same-sex marriage bill. Yet there are many other issues for the house to deal with including settling the process of establishing the citizenship status of all parliamentarians and having their declarations tabled. There are also at least 53 other bills and issues for the house to consider, from crime-fighting measures against child sexual abuse and money laundering to social welfare and defence matters. If same-sex marriage were the parliament’s only pressing issue it would be a withering indictment on the Coalition’s agenda.

Bill Shorten said Mr Turnbull was frightened and his decision was an assault on democracy. “What he has said is, ‘Well, I don’t like what you are going to do so I am just going to cancel parliament because it doesn’t suit me,’ ” the Opposition Leader said. Labor, Greens and some crossbench MPs say they will travel to Canberra regardless to hold meetings and seek to highlight their willingness to legislate, turning Monday into a powerful stunt aimed at government dysfunction.

The government plan ensures that by the time the house next sits, on December 4, Barnaby Joyce will likely have been re-elected in his New England by-election. While the former deputy prime minister is unlikely to be sworn in quickly enough to take his seat that week, his win will have bolstered Coalition numbers by one, and its confidence by some. It means the house would miss the December 1 deadline set by the Senate for citizenship declarations. Mr Pyne said the house deadline would move to December 5. Mr Turnbull then would be looking to cram into a single week the tabling of MPs’ citizenship details, any referrals to the High Court and the passage of same-sex marriage. The parliament could sit again the following week if necessary, but clearly the aim would be to clear up business and break for an extended summer recess.

Apart from halving the question times from eight to four and partyroom meetings from two to one, this shock curtailment minimises time available for haggling over same-sex marriage and religious freedom protections. The Australian understands concerns about protecting parental rights and freedom of expression around traditional views of marriage but has some sympathy for the argument that not all of these issues can be addressed in the marriage laws. Protections related to weddings ought to be covered, but issues of religious freedom, freedom of expression and parental rights are far broader than marriage and warrant more extensive debate and, possibly, legal protections.

We need to be wary of unintended consequences and be mindful that these issues have been handled in this country across many years in different scenarios from religious schools to workplaces. Additional legislation could run the risk of protecting odious practices such as polygamy or child marriages under the shield of religious freedom. It is best to deal with same-sex marriage sensibly and continue a wide discussion about these issues before considering any broader legislation.