NSWCCL is engaging with the fast moving covid-19 crisis on a number of fronts. The maintenance of core democratic processes to ensure adequate parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s responses to the crisis is a high priority for us and other civil society organisations. Our intention is not to hinder the Government’s capacity to act with necessary speed in the face of the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. Rather, our aim is to give confidence to the community that government responses are being scrutinised for lawfulness, proportionality and fairness through transparent parliamentary processes. Without this confidence public trust in the Government over this period is likely to be weakened.
Like many others, we have urged both the NSW and the Australian Governments to rethink their decisions to close down their parliaments over the next crucial months. The NSW Parliament is not scheduled to resume until 15th September and the Australian Parliament not until 11th August. The Australian Parliament will sit for one day next Wednesday (8th April) to approve the latest tranche of emergency spending.
We have also called for the establishment of a strong, bipartisan Senate Select Committee to scrutinise and report on the Government’s responses to the pandemic crisis. NSWCCL joined 7 other legal and civil society groups in a public call for such a committee to approved when the Parliament sits on Wednesday:
The Senate must establish the Select Senate Committee when it reconvenes, for potentially just one day, next Wednesday. A Select Senate Committee will provide a vital avenue to business, civil society groups and individuals to provide information to inform Government decision-making and feedback on the impact of those decisions, so that no one is left behind and no one is left in the dark.
The NSW and New Zealand Governments have already established committees to oversee their Governments’ response to COVID-19.
A Select Senate Committee is just a part of the solution – Australians also need regular parliamentary processes to continue. It is vital that our Parliament sit, in a way that is safe, so it can make decisions rapidly as the pandemic unfolds.
Participating groups in addition to NSWCCL were Human Rights Law Centre, Centre for Public Integrity, Amnesty International, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, People with Disability Australia, GRATA Fund and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
Other groups – including eminent ex judges - have made similar calls for such a committee.
At this point of time we are hopeful that the Senate will set up such a Committee next Wednesday to provide the much-needed and focused scrutiny on Government actions over this extraordinarily challenging and scary period in Australia’s history.
