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Legal groups back Senate Select Committee into COVID-19 response
Advocates in the legal profession are pledging support for a new cross-party Senate Select Committee to review and report on the Australian government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jerome Doraisamy
An agreement has been struck between the federal government and opposition to establish a cross-party Senate Select Committee into the former’s response to the ongoing global pandemic.
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The committee is set to be chaired by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher, while Liberal Senator James Paterson will serve as deputy chair.
Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright said she supports the establishment of the new committee, noting that given the government’s current plans to adjourn parliament until August 2020 – with limited exceptions – “the ability to scrutinise decisions has been restricted”.
“A functioning Australian parliament is fundamental to national values that are deeply entrenched in Australian society: those of respect for democracy and the rule of law – particularly in times of crisis,” Ms Wright espoused.
“In these uncertain times, ensuring transparency, scrutiny and oversight of the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis is paramount, if the Australian people are to maintain confidence in the parliamentary system.”
That is why it is so important that the Senate Select Committee has been established, Ms Wright surmised.
“We also call on the Australian parliament to continue throughout the COVID-19 crisis by the further adoption of technology and other measures. Australians need to see democracy fully in action, not suspended, throughout this crisis,” she added.
Ms Wright’s comments follow calls from other legal and civil society groups, who have urged the Australian Senate to establish such a committee with broad powers to review and report on the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
The Honourable Anthony Whealy QC, who chairs the Centre for Public Integrity and is also a former judge of the NSW Court of Appeal, said that the “response to the coronavirus has seen billions of dollars of public money spent. The vast amount of public money involved means accountability and parliamentary scrutiny is needed more than ever.”
“Other parliamentary democracies dealing with outbreaks of coronavirus, including France, Spain, UK and US have all continued to sit and scrutinise government legislation. Our MPs must continue to represent the Australian people in parliament,” Mr Whealy argued.
Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Alice Drury added: “The government must be responsive to the needs of communities as the crisis unfolds, which means creating avenues for their decisions to be constructively scrutinised, and where they can hear feedback from the public about what’s working, and what isn’t. Now is the time for our parliament to shine, not shut down.”
Responding to the establishment of the Committee, Ms Drury said that commitment from the government to transparent decision-making and parliamentary scrutiny is essential.
“This move by the Senate to impose democratic oversight over the many decisions the Government is making will be reassuring to all Australians, who have seen monumental changes to their lives and freedoms. We can have confidence in leadership only when decisions are transparent, open to constructive scrutiny, and responsive to the changing needs of our communities.”
“As millions of Australians have gone to great effort to plan and make arrangements to work remotely, our elected politicians should do the same. We need regular Parliament processes back in place as soon as possible,” Ms Drury said.
