Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Pairing arrangements in this chamber are, of course, informal arrangements. They are very important arrangements to ensure that the decisions in this chamber properly reflect the will of the Australian people as expressed at the previous election. They have worked very effectively for a very, very long time and, despite all of our appropriately robust engagement in the battle of ideas, senators from all parties and the crossbench have respected the important convention in relation to pairing arrangements. There have been some informal discussions in relation to pairing arrangements in the context of the current COVID induced arrangements in the Senate, with a number of senators—indeed entire parties—participating in these proceedings remotely.

In this context, what I would like to set out on behalf of the government is that the government agrees, for the ongoing operation of pairing arrangements in the Senate, that, where requested by any whip, voting instructions for any party or senator that will not otherwise be represented in the chamber during a division shall be provided by that party's whip or the senator concerned before the commencement of any division. It is indeed reasonable for voting instructions that have been received and are intended to be claimed in the context of pairing arrangements to be provided by the relevant party or senator concerned where requested. Disclosing this information ensures the transparent operation of pairing arrangements and its ongoing success moving forward and that the voting intention of any party or senator not represented in the chamber is accurately reflected by governments and oppositions. I thank the Senate.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank the Leader of the Government in the Senate for his contribution and I just want to make a few comments on Hansard from the opposition's perspective.

As Senator Cormann has said, the system of pairing in the Senate has operated successfully for decades, and that has been as a consequence of arrangements between the parties. The pairing of senators who are absent ensures that in all divisions where government and opposition are voting in opposite ways the result in this chamber is not determined as a consequence of the absence of particular senators voting one way or the other. This is a system of benefit to all parties in a chamber where there is no one group which has a majority and the balance of power exists with a number of crossbench senators. An important feature of this system is the convention of governments and oppositions accommodating minor party and Independent senators in their pairs in divisions where government and opposition are on opposing sides in divisions. Clearly, in a hybrid parliament we do have to look at how we ensure that this system continues to operate, and we agree with the government that, in order for this system to work in this context, pairing instructions from senators who are not otherwise represented in the chamber during a division should be transparent, provided in writing and made available equally to whips of all parties upon request.