MP Tim Wilson holds ‘free market bible’ on day of oaths

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson held a copy of Capitalism and Freedom as he affirmed his allegiance to the Queen.

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson set a new benchmark for originality in the House of Representatives yesterday, holding a copy of Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom as he affirmed his allegiance to the Queen at the commencement of parliament.

“Traditionally you take the affirmation without a text in your hand. Characteristically I did something different and decided to hold a book that reflected my values,” he told The Australian.

Mr Wilson was among 37 lower house MPs who elected to make an affirmation, compared to 114 who swore oaths on religious texts.

In the Senate, 25 oaths were sworn and 15 affirmations made.

Scott Morrison and Nationals leader Michael McCormack swore oaths on the Bible, while Anthony Albanese made an affirmation. Josh Frydenberg swore on a Torah used by his mentor, former governor-general Sir Zelman Cowen, when he was sworn in by then chief justice Sir Garfield Barwick.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles swore the oath of allegiance on a tiny Bible handed down from his great grandfather, who used it in the 1880s when he swore an oath to become a Supreme Court barrister.

Labor MP Ed Husic, the first Muslim elected to federal parliament, swore the oath on a Koran belonging to Farid Ahmed, one of the survivors of the Christchurch massacre. Barnaby Joyce had to come back for a second go, after initially forgetting to hold the Bible as he recited the oath.

MPs making the oath declared they “will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors according to law”.