ID SPEECH ON PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET VOTE
11 MAY 2010-Honourable Speaker, in a previous year’s parliamentary budget vote speech I described the Chief Whips’ Forum as a soap opera because you could miss eight episodes and still be able to catch up with the storyline.
LANCE GREYLING, MP
Honourable Speaker, in a previous year’s parliamentary budget vote speech I described the Chief Whips’ Forum as a soap opera because you could miss eight episodes and still be able to catch up with the storyline.
I am happy to state that this Forum has, however, become more efficient at dealing with issues and that thankfully the lead characters are no longer continuously replaced by new actors from the ruling party every few months.
This improvement has allowed us to build up a collegial spirit in the Chief Whips’ Forum and as a team we have been able to tackle some important issues affecting this Parliament.
The most important issue is how we set about building up the credibility of Parliament and turning it into an institution that is relevant in the lives of our people.
Unfortunately, past scandals like ‘Travelgate’ have seriously damaged Parliament’s credibility and the ID maintains that we now have to be beyond reproach in all our affairs in order to repair this damage.
The ID therefore finds it disconcerting that we have now been forced to resort to legal action to ensure that the travel claims of members are subjected to transparent scrutiny.
We also need to ask some serious questions about who has oversight over Parliament.
The Parliamentary Oversight Authority is not sufficiently transparent, nor is it inclusive enough to provide proper oversight.
The Chief Whips’ Forum sometimes feels like international negotiations, where action is only taken on those issues that are in the interests of the larger powers.
Issues such as speaking time in Parliament, for instance, are allowed to drag on because the status quo benefits the larger parties.
A parliamentary research report, however, found that we are the only Parliament that allocates speaking time on a proportional basis, and we are also the only Parliament that does not have speaking time principles enshrined in its rules.
We need to urgently address this matter in the interests of promoting rigorous parliamentary debate that can advance multiparty democracy.
Finally Speaker, I have been appalled at the lack of leadership that has been shown by the larger parties in dealing with an issue of immense public interest, namely party funding reform.
For three years I have been trying in vain to get Parliament to set up an ad-hoc committee to debate legislation on this issue.
Parliament is the only institution that represents all national political parties and surely we should be showing leadership in setting up a mechanism that can finally deal with this issue.
Instead, the larger parties keep kicking this issue to touch, with the effect that political party funding scandals continuing to disgrace our democracy.
The ID demands that Parliament finally takes action on this issue, and that political parties are held accountable to their rhetoric on this issue.
Finally, the ID would like to encourage Parliament to show leadership by hiring a dedicated environmental officer who can ensure that Parliament can set an example for the rest of the country on this major issue.
I thank you.
For media enquiries, please call Lance Greyling on 083 298 8553
Honourable Speaker, in a previous year’s parliamentary budget vote speech I described the Chief Whips’ Forum as a soap opera because you could miss eight episodes and still be able to catch up with the storyline.
I am happy to state that this Forum has, however, become more efficient at dealing with issues and that thankfully the lead characters are no longer continuously replaced by new actors from the ruling party every few months.
This improvement has allowed us to build up a collegial spirit in the Chief Whips’ Forum and as a team we have been able to tackle some important issues affecting this Parliament.
The most important issue is how we set about building up the credibility of Parliament and turning it into an institution that is relevant in the lives of our people.
Unfortunately, past scandals like ‘Travelgate’ have seriously damaged Parliament’s credibility and the ID maintains that we now have to be beyond reproach in all our affairs in order to repair this damage.
The ID therefore finds it disconcerting that we have now been forced to resort to legal action to ensure that the travel claims of members are subjected to transparent scrutiny.
We also need to ask some serious questions about who has oversight over Parliament.
The Parliamentary Oversight Authority is not sufficiently transparent, nor is it inclusive enough to provide proper oversight.
The Chief Whips’ Forum sometimes feels like international negotiations, where action is only taken on those issues that are in the interests of the larger powers.
Issues such as speaking time in Parliament, for instance, are allowed to drag on because the status quo benefits the larger parties.
A parliamentary research report, however, found that we are the only Parliament that allocates speaking time on a proportional basis, and we are also the only Parliament that does not have speaking time principles enshrined in its rules.
We need to urgently address this matter in the interests of promoting rigorous parliamentary debate that can advance multiparty democracy.
Finally Speaker, I have been appalled at the lack of leadership that has been shown by the larger parties in dealing with an issue of immense public interest, namely party funding reform.
For three years I have been trying in vain to get Parliament to set up an ad-hoc committee to debate legislation on this issue.
Parliament is the only institution that represents all national political parties and surely we should be showing leadership in setting up a mechanism that can finally deal with this issue.
Instead, the larger parties keep kicking this issue to touch, with the effect that political party funding scandals continuing to disgrace our democracy.
The ID demands that Parliament finally takes action on this issue, and that political parties are held accountable to their rhetoric on this issue.
Finally, the ID would like to encourage Parliament to show leadership by hiring a dedicated environmental officer who can ensure that Parliament can set an example for the rest of the country on this major issue.
I thank you.
For media enquiries, please call Lance Greyling on 083 298 8553
