Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has quashed a push by his Special Minister of State Don Farrell to increase the size of the federal parliament.
Albanese was blunt in response to questioning from Opposition Leader Angus Taylor asking him to rule out an expansion.
He told parliament he was satisfied with the current number of 150 members of the House of Representatives and 12 senators from each state. He was also “very satisfied” with the current composition of the parliament.
He added: “I have been very privileged to have the best campaign director I have ever seen, Paul Erickson. If I was to say to him ‘we have 94 seats but how about we throw it all up in the air and see how it lands?’ I reckon Paul Erickson would have a pretty clear response.”
Farrell has asked the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to inquire into expanding the parliament.
The opposition seized on an answer Farrell gave at the National Press Club on Monday. He said parliament was last expanded in 1984, under the Hawke government. The population has almost doubled since but the representation has stayed the same.
Noting that the previous expansion had been under Labor prime minister Ben Chifley in the 1940s, Farrell said:
Roughly every 40 years there’s been a re-evaluation of representation. Increasing the size of parliament is what great Labor leaders do.
Taylor and Nationals Leader Matt Canavan said in a Tuesday statement, followed by a news conference, that the Coalition would oppose any increase.
They said analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office showed expanding the parliament could cost more than $620 million (over eight years), including salaries, staff, travel and office costs.
Taylor said: “At a time when Australian families are tightening their belts, the last thing they should be asked to fund is more politicians”.
Canavan said people in regional Australia were doing it tough and did not want more politicians in Canberra.
A spokesperson for Farrell said he was awaiting the findings of the JSCEM and would not pre-empt its work.
“The only party fixated on this enough to have done costings is the Coalition.”
“The government is focused on fuel security and cost of living relief for Australians. This is clearly not about the policy or issues; it’s about the internal audition for attention in the Coalition.”
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