Exclusive: Do we need 234 MPs? Labor open to expanding parliament
The size of the federal parliament could be significantly expanded after the next election, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to consider whether to follow his hero Bob Hawke in boosting the number of politicians.
“We’ve had a number of submissions raise the issue of representation, and it’s an important issue that the committee will be considering as part of the inquiry,” she said.Special Minister of State Don Farrell has previously floated increasing the number of senators allocated to the Northern Territory and the ACT from two each to four, but government sources confirmed a wider expansion of parliament would be considered.
According to the progressive think tank The Australia Institute, restoring the representation to about what it was after the Hawke government’s reforms would require between 223 and 234 lower house seats, and up to 122 senators. Browne said a bigger parliament would also result in a deeper talent pool for ministers, a priority for Robert Menzies when he argued for the parliament’s first increase in size in the 1940s.Psephologist and polling analyst Kevin Bonham has recommended two alternative reforms: an expansion by one-sixth , or an expansion by one-third .
“It’s a political decision, but all I can say is on a population basis the Albanese government will have no difficulty whatsoever to justify this quite modest increase,” he said. “That’s something this committee should give some consideration to. It’s been a while since we’ve looked at this debate.”
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