Grendel wrote on Feb 20
th, 2014 at 11:00pm:
Bam wrote on Feb 20
th, 2014 at 11:59am:
Grendel wrote on Feb 20
th, 2014 at 12:12pm:
Aussie wrote on Feb 19
th, 2014 at 6:29pm:
Quote:Mandate? What percent of the vote gives him a mandate...
He was elected on that Policy. Two PUP Senators were elected on that Policy. They have a mandate to pursue that Policy. Anything else would be be a betrayal of the people who voted for them.
A mandate is accompanied by a clear majority and governance... not a poofteenth of the vote.
Funny how opinions of mandates change according to which party is in power.
So how do you disagree with me?
Do you think Clive has a mandate to do anything?
Did Rudd have a mandate to implement an ETS in 2009? Did the Coalition or Greens have a mandate to block it?
Here's the thing with mandates. Here's how they
really work.
The Senate is free to vote as it wishes on legislation. The government has a mechanism that can be used to get the legislation through: if the Senate fails to pass the bills twice at least three months apart, the government can call a double dissolution election, can win a mandate for the blocked bills at
that election, and then can put the bills to a joint sitting of Parliament. The joint sitting has only been invoked once to overcome a particularly recalcitrant Senate.
The possibility of a double dissolution election is the mechanism that drives the mandate.The possibility of losing a double dissolution election is why the mandate is not invoked often. It's not realistic to assert the existence of a mandate on any piece of legislation. The Senate is free to vote as it wishes. It's not there to rubber-stamp legislation! Mandates only really exist on legislation that is eligible to be put before a joint sitting of Parliament. Any other legislation has to be approved by the
Parliament (not the Government) in the usual manner.
All legislation - regardless of the mechanism - has to be approved by the whole Parliament.This is why Rudd's government did
not have a mandate for the ETS in 2009 and early 2010. The Parliament did not approve the legislation. But Rudd could have sought a double-dissolution election on the ETS to win a legitimate mandate.
And this is why Abbott's government does not have a legitimate mandate to repeal the carbon tax, repeal the mining tax, etc. The
Parliament has to approve these bills, not the Government. Abbott can take his chances on a double dissolution to win a mandate for the contested bills, or accept the decision of the Parliament. But he cannot go around saying "I have a mandate" without doing the hard yards that actually bring a mandate: he has to win a double dissolution election with the contested bills.
complete rubbish - and the reason you don't get mandates is because they are not legal or parliamentary devices. They are moral and ethical ones. It is why the coalition voted to repeal workchoices despite supporting the legislation. they did it because the voters (remember them )clearly rejected it. the voters clearly rejected the carbon tax too. the trouble is there is simply no way you would ever think there is a mandate for legislation you don't like - because the ethical position is not something you seem to understand.