Coronavirus: Queensland government gives itself power to suspend Parliament for six months

The Queensland government has used an urgent session of parliament to give itself the power to suspend sittings for six months.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Parliament House in Brisbane.

The Queensland government has used an urgent, overnight sitting of parliament to give itself the power — through Labor Speaker Curtis Pitt — to suspend parliament for six months, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In an extraordinary move that the Opposition has labelled an “unprecedented abuse of power,” Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath moved a motion that would effectively allow parliament to be suspended until September, the month before the scheduled October 31 state elections.

Urgent legislation was also passed to give the government the power to postpone next weekend’s local government elections, and two state by-elections, a move One Nation’s James Ashby called “measures straight out of Putin and Xi Jinping’s playbook”.

Ms D’Ath told parliament that around the world, there were regions and whole countries that were now in lockdown due to COVID-19.

“No-one in this chamber could stand here today and say that they can absolutely guarantee that an area of this state, the state or the nation would not be locked down,” Ms D’Ath said.

“We are not in a position to make those decisions about what will happen over the coming days, weeks and months. However, if we do not provide a mechanism within the sessional orders then, despite us potentially being in a national or state lockdown, we would still have to recall parliament and go against everything that has been directed for health reasons to protect our community and Queenslanders. This is a gap. It is a gap that potentially needs to be addressed longer term, but we have put a sunset provision on it so that parliament must sit within six months. On the question of the date, a parliament must sit within six months. That is why that date is there.”

Ms D’Ath said the federal parliament already had a similar power and it was rarely used and never abused.

Liberal National Party manager of Opposition business Jarrod Bleijie said because Queensland had no Upper House, the only thing that could stop a corrupt government was the parliament.

“For the government to dismiss this parliament as their little play thing for the next six months is disgraceful — absolutely disgraceful,” Mr Bleijie said, opposing the motion.

“They will cancel committee meetings and, at a whim, in two weeks the Leader of the House can inform the Speaker, ‘Please advise honourable members that this sitting is not happening.’ They could advise the Speaker to do it the next sitting, and on and on they could do this.”

Parliament’s scheduled sitting for today has been cancelled. Ms D’Ath said it had been adjourned until the next scheduled sitting date in two weeks.

“The proposed sessional order update is consistent with other jurisdictions, such as the federal parliament, to allow for the sitting date to change in exceptional circumstances,” Ms D’Ath said on Twitter.

Power to change March 28 election date

The government also rushed through legislation giving it the power to potential delay next Saturday’s local government elections and two by-elections, in the Gold Coast electorate of Currumbin, and the Ipswich-based seat of Bundamba.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe told parliament on Wednesday morning that Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young had advised it was still safe to hold the March 28 statewide council elections, and the Currumbin and Bundamba by-elections.

Parliament was then suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, as Ms D’Ath insisted MPs needed to exercise social distancing.

But late on Wednesday night, Health Minister Steven Miles introduced an urgent piece of legislation, that would allow the government to postpone the elections, and for the Electoral Commission of Queensland to flexibly respond to the health crisis to safely deliver the March 28 elections.

Mr Bleijie objected to the legislation being rushed through in just two hours, with only 10 MPs out of 93 allowed to speak.

“This is disrespect,” Mr Bleijie said.

“There’s no reason we couldn’t be here tomorrow, because we’re going to be here anyway, but not debating the laws.”

LNP Deputy Leader Tim Mander said the Opposition would support the legislation, meaning it passed last night.

But Mr Mander said the LNP did not agree with the legislation being rushed through without proper consultation, and without all MPs having the chance to properly read and consider the laws.

“It’s extraordinary this legislation has been dropped on this House in the manner that it has been,” Mr Mander said.

One Nation state executive member Mr Ashby — whose party is contesting both by-elections — said the urgent legislation was a “desperate” move by the government.

“These are desperate measures by a failing Queensland Premier whose polling results obviously reveal that Labor cannot win either the Bundamba or Currumbin by-elections,” Mr Ashby said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Local Government Association of Queensland said the council poll must proceed as planned on March 28.

“We have faith in the good sense of the 3.2 million Queensland voters to continue to vote early and to stagger attendances on the actual polling day on March 28,” Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said, on behalf of the LGAQ, which represents the state’s 77 councils.

Telephone voting has already been expanded for voters in coronavirus quarantine. An unprecedented number of Queensland voters have already voted in pre-poll, or have applied for postal votes