The Role of the Second Chamber
‘Parliamentary Democracy at Work: Essays on the New South Wales Legislative Council’
Editors: David Blunt, AM and Dr David Clune, OAM (Publishers: The Federation Press, January 2025, ISBN 9781760025199).
The publication of ‘Parliamentary Democracy at Work: Essays on the New South Wales Legislative Council’ (Federation Press, 2024) marks two milestones in the New South Wales Legislative Council’s history. The first is the commemoration of the bicentenary of the Council in 2024. The second is the retirement of its long-serving Clerk, David Blunt. It is entirely appropriate that his retirement is marked by the publication of a volume that chronicles and celebrates the two centuries of work of the Legislative Council – defending and promoting its role in the practice of New South Wales democracy while looking to the future of democracy and the role of a modern Parliament – and showcases the breadth and depth of thinking of those working for and within the Legislative Council.
As editors David Blunt and David Clune say in the introduction to the volume, the Legislative Council is now something of a ‘pacesetter’ in Australian Upper Houses. This is amply demonstrated in the volume, and can be, I believe, traced in no small part to the culture of the Council. Under David Blunt’s leadership, and those before him, the staff of the New South Wales Legislative Council are engaged, dynamic, self-reflective and committed to understanding, protecting and developing the role of the House in the State’s constitutional system. Now, of course, there is room for improvement, and areas for improvement are outlined in the book. However, the fact that there is contest, debate and scholarship reflects the culture of the Legislative Council: these issues are identified, and they are worked through between staff and Members in a robust and informed way, with respect for research-informed reform and fair and transparent process.
One of these areas of future change is the engagement with First Nations people in the State. The Legislative Council’s current President, Hon. Ben Franklin, MLC refers in his chapter (chapter 6, pages 67-68) that there have been a number of commendable efforts to engage with First Nations by the Council, including through commissioned artworks, and also through truth-telling, linking the expansion of settlement and the experience of that on the Gadigal People of the land on which the Council stands, during its establishment. Working with the local Aboriginal communities is an important expression of localised truth-telling.
My question then, for the future reflection of those working in the Legislative Council, is where to now for this engagement. In Chapter 12 of this book, by former Legislative Council President, Hon. John Ajaka, there is an important set of reflections from which to start. By considering the introduction of the Aboriginal Languages Bill 2017, both the significance of the substance of the Bill itself in facilitating and supporting the reawakening, nurturing and growth of Aboriginal languages in New South Wales, as well as the innovative procedure that was adopted during the passage of the Bill to allow for a message stick ceremony to be performed by Aboriginal elders, and the ongoing display of the Message Stick that was used.
At page 151, Ajaka rightly argues: ‘From this experience, it is clear that Westminster traditions can be respected while Parliaments can still be a platform that is open to innovation and culturally appropriate practices and symbolism. In sum, it is a matter of evolving in a positive way the traditions and practices of the chamber.’
The Aboriginal Languages Act was an important milestone, but there is more to be done within the modern New South Wales constitutional system and democratic practice to meaningfully accommodate the First People and nations. I agree with Ajaka, that the Westminster traditions can adapt to these changes. In 2024, the New South Wales Government appointed three Aboriginal treaty Commissioners, who commenced their work this year. A future treaty raises the need for First Nations political representation and voice in the State. How the Legislative Council might engage with State-level Aboriginal representative bodies and how the Council might accommodate First Nations’ views into its law-making and scrutiny functions, is a new chapter for the functioning of democracy in New South Wales. I look forward to seeing how this incredibly able chamber will respond to that future challenge.
From my perspective, this book is a very welcome addition to the literature on Australian Parliaments and Legislatures more generally. It adds to our knowledge of the New South Wales Legislative Council in two important ways. First, it pays detailed attention to the key rules of the parliamentary game – the procedural, legal and constitutional constraints and opportunities that govern the politics of the Legislative Council. There are, for example, five chapters on orders for State papers and six chapters on Committee powers and processes. These rules are often obscure to political scientists and to our students. The book does much to illuminate them.
Second, ‘Parliamentary Democracy at Work’ tells us something about the politics behind the use of these rules and the reforms that produced them, although this is a less pronounced theme. Questions of how and by whom the parliamentary rules have been used, what drove parliamentary reforms, and how those reforms have been sustained and defended are core interests for political scientists. The book’s index provides valuable clues to answering these questions. There are more entries on Opposition and Crossbench MLCs than on Government MLCs, suggesting that the combined forces of the Opposition and Crossbench MLCs have usually driven reforms and done most to take up the opportunities provided by new rules.
Some Government MLCs do score a relatively high number of mentions in the book. Tellingly, this is because of their role as Leaders of the Government in the Legislative Council, charged with negotiating the passage of government legislation from a minority position and with responding to Opposition and Crossbench challenges to Executive power.
Two chapters are particularly helpful for understanding the politics of the Legislative Council. The first is David Clune’s ‘The Legislative Council of New South Wales: A progressive conservative institution’. ‘Progressive conservative’ is a useful expression that captures much of the dynamic of the Legislative Council since it became a popularly elected house in 1978. The reforms since then have been progressive, in that they have enhanced democracy in New South Wales. At the same time, they have been conservative, in that they have developed organically over time, rather than following an original blueprint. Examples of organic changes include the development of the Committee system, the extension of orders for papers, and the Legislative Council’s recent moves towards stronger scrutiny of delegated legislation.
The second chapter is Lynn Lovelock’s ‘The Membership of the New South Wales Legislative Council Crossbench and its implications for responsible government, 1999-2007’. This chapter points to the interplay between electoral rules-based or proportional representation and the Legislative Council’s multi-party composition. Had different electoral rules resulted in a Legislative Council dominated by the two major parties, ‘Parliamentary Democracy at Work’ would almost certainly be a slimmer volume. It is worth remembering that in 1978, both Labor Premier Neville Wran and Liberal Opposition Leader Eric Willis thought the new elected Legislative Council would continue two-party politics as usual. This book shows how the Council has instead developed into a powerful and dynamic democratic institution.
To order a copy of the book please visit: https://federationpress.com.au/product/parliamentary-democracy-at-work/
