Parnell-Bressington filibuster

The Parnell-Bressington filibuster is a record-breaking filibuster that occurred in the South Australian upper house, the Legislative Council, on 8 May 2008, involving SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell and No Pokies MLC Ann Bressington.

The South Australian workers compensation scheme known as WorkCover had been suffering an underfunded liability blowout since 2000, and by 2008 was nearing toward $1 billion. Legislation created to rectify the situation meant that injured workers payments would be cut by 10 percent after 13 weeks, 20 percent after 26 weeks, and end workers compensation payments all together after two and a half years, regardless of job prospects. Both major parties, the South Australian divisions of the incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Mike Rann and the opposition centre-right Liberal Party of Australia led by Martin Hamilton-Smith were supportive of the changes, and with eight members each in the 22-member upper house, numbers were not an issue. The cross-bench is made up of two Family First, two No Pokies, one Democrat, and one Green.

Considering themselves the opposition to this legislation, Parnell spoke for over eight hours, with Bressington speaking for another five hours. Allowing for lunch and dinner breaks, Parnell started at 11am and finished at 11pm. Bressington went from 11pm to 4am straight. Parnell's eight hour contribution alone set a record filibuster in South Australian parliamentary history, and combined, set a record nationally in any Australian parliament. Parnell alone fell short of the record, Albert Gardiner's effort of 12 hours and 40 minutes in the Australian Senate in 1918. The world record is held by US Senator Strom Thurmond in 1957 by filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Reported to be full at all times, the chamber heard Parnell present his own analysis and then related the submissions from the union movement and stories from injured workers. Some media outlets reported that Parnell read the entire WorkCover Bill into the public record. An examination of the official Hansard record of the debate shows that this is incorrect and that Parnell read none of the Bill during his speech. Parnell has also denied the charge of "filibuster", especially since his contribution did not delay the Bill and it still passed within the timeframe set by the Government. He described the bill as the most important he had dealt with since entering the parliament at the March 2006 state election:

I planned to speak for a long time. I didn't know how long it would be but in the end I cut it down. Had I gone through all the material that I could have, it would have been twice as long. But I knew I was pushing the boundaries of parliamentary convention. No-one goes for that long, it's not normally regarded as polite.

SA Unions Secretary Janet Giles, who resigned her position on the WorkCover board in protest to the changes, applauded the actions.

The voice of workers in this debate has been ignored and then silenced as the Premier tries to ram the WorkCover Bill through Parliament. If it wasn't for the cross bench members in the Upper House the impact this law will have on injured workers and their families would never have been considered.

The filibuster used up the last sitting day, however it did not substantially delay the passage of the Bill. The most substantial part of the debate - the Committee Stage - took place two weeks later (commencing on the next scheduled sitting day) and went for 3 days including the consideration of nearly 200 amendments. The Bill finally passed 14 votes to four with one pair, and one Family First abstaining. Parnell stated:

This is a sad day for South Australia... this is the worst piece of legislation I have seen in my time here. This is a horrible legacy the government is leaving this state.

Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright said in reply:

These reforms... ensure the longevity of a healthy and economically viable workers compensation scheme for generations of workers to come.

References

* [http://www.sisa.net.au/_upload_docs/20080229113045.Workers%20Rehabilitation%20and%20Compensation%20(Scheme%20Review)%20Amendment%20Bill%202008%20report%20un%20(2).pdf Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Scheme Review) Amendment Bill 2008]
* [http://news.smh.com.au/national/sa-mps-in-recordbreaking-filibuster-20080509-2che.html SA MPs in record-breaking filibuster: Sydney Morning Herald 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23670409-2682,00.html MPs talk for 13 hours to stall WorkCover Bill: The Advertiser 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23669939-5006787,00.html MPs set 13-hour filibuster record: The Australian 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23671114-29277,00.html Greens MP delivers eight hour speech: NEWS.com.au 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2240434.htm South Australian MP shows the gift of the gab: Australian Broadcasting Corporation 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2239692.htm?section=justin Long-winded MP sets 8-hour record: Australian Broadcasting Corporation 9/5/2008]
* [http://news.uk.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=8269384 Australian lawmaker talks for 8 hours to delay bill: MSN News 9/5/2008]
* [http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ga2gKuIEa8TRDYU2qJsjN4Spdp7g Marathon speech delays House bill: Associated Press 8/5/2008]
* [http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Australia/10212208.html Marathon speech delays Bill vote: Gulfnews 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=70602 Filibuster Record a Real Mouthful: Shortnews 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.scopical.com.au/articles/Politics/5452/Greens-MP-makes-8-hour-speech,-record-set Greens MP makes 8-hour speech, record set: Scopical 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.saunions.com.au/media_releases/Independents_Greens_Defend_Workers_08.php Independents and Greens defend workers rights in face of government bullying: SA Unions 9/5/2008]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/18/2165505.htm Giles resigns from WorkCover board: Australian Broadcasting Corporation 18/2/2008]
* [http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23672911-5006336,00.html Advertiser Editorial: Talkfest as WorkCover lies bleeding: AdelaideNow 10/5/2008]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/05/2265542.htm Minor parties fail to amend WorkCover Bill: ABC 5/6/2008]
* [http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23818230-5006301,00.html MPs pass WorkCover changes: The Advertiser 6/6/2008]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/19/2280331.htm Workcover changes approved: ABC 19/6/2008]

External links

* [http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Hansard/DailyHansard.htm Parliament Hansard]