Whatever politicians think about being tested for drugs and alcohol, a majority of Australians believe the time has arrived to halt the regular spectacle of MPs behaving badly with tougher controls at their parliamentary workplace.
The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for the Herald by research company Resolve Strategic found 55 per cent of voters in favour of drug and alcohol testing of parliamentarians. Voters also back the idea of suspending MPs from parliament for one or two weeks if they are suspected of being under the influence of either, although this had slightly narrower support of 53 per cent.
The poll was conducted after high-profile National Party MPs put political public drunkenness on the agenda last month: Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was videoed lying on the footpath outside a Canberra pub swearing into his mobile. His explanation? He was on a prescription drug. Then Nationals deputy leader Perrin Davey appeared to slur her words in a Senate hearing. Her explanation? She had a speech impediment due to a throat operation. Both admitted to consuming alcohol too.
Once tales abounded of drunken politicians, usually at their own expense: In the 1960s prime minister John Gorton reputedly threw up on a plane and then assured a flight attendant that turbulence even affected old RAAF fighter pilots – only to be told the aircraft had not taken off. But more recently, the darker side of politics and alcohol came home with the rape allegations of Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and led to then-sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins’ 2021 report Set the Standard, which painted a damning assessment of the Parliament House workplace culture.
Setting aside her horrendous findings about sexual assault and bullying, workers spoke of the “pervasiveness of alcohol and a culture of drinking”. Jenkins was told that alcohol was a common feature of socialising, networking and relationship building among parliamentarians, their staff and stakeholders. Most nights when parliament was sitting there was at least one and sometimes several events offering free, unlimited alcohol.
That was 2021. So have politicians made much headway in bringing parliament’s boozy culture under control?
In the previous term of parliament, under the Morrison government, Liberal backbenchers Katie Allen and Sarah Henderson called for politicians to be drug and alcohol tested. That went nowhere. Last month, in the wake of Joyce’s footpath antics, NSW independent Zali Steggall asked about introducing a law to impose random alcohol and drug testing. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were united in their opposition, basically saying MPs were responsible adults who should behave accordingly.
But as the Jenkins report made clear, and subsequent episodes seem to indicate, they don’t behave accordingly. Some behave badly. And even when alcohol is not involved, there is a propensity toward boorishness that prompts many Australians to wonder what sort of gilded palace their elected members think they work in. Victorian independent senator Lidia Thorpe triggered a furious row in parliament that led the Senate to shut down early on Tuesday night, after she refused to stop speaking and claimed the acting deputy president of the chamber was asleep in her chair.
Last orders honourable members: there’s a community to serve
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01.03.2024
Whatever politicians think about being tested for drugs and alcohol, a majority of Australians believe the time has arrived to halt the regular spectacle of MPs behaving badly with tougher controls at their parliamentary workplace.
The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for the Herald by research company Resolve Strategic found 55 per cent of voters in favour of drug and alcohol testing of parliamentarians. Voters also back the idea of suspending MPs from parliament for one or two weeks if they are suspected of being under the influence of either, although this had slightly narrower support of 53 per cent.
The poll was conducted after high-profile National Party MPs put political public drunkenness on the agenda last month: Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was videoed lying on the footpath outside a........
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