Testament 82

Communications were a problem in 1901. Most correspondence was by mail delivered by sea or mail-coach or telegram send by morse code over transcontinental wires and/or undersea cable. The first trunk line phones were connected between Melbourne and Sydney 1907 and extended to Adelaide 1914, Brisbane 1923 Perth 1930 and Hobart 1935.

The difficulties faced by Parliamentarians before 1948 were immense. When you consider they covered their electorates first by horse then unreliable motor vehicles, corresponded by telegram and mail and only later by telephone.

In Canberra they were housed in the Old Hotel Kurrajong a long way from their electorate, home and family. Wartime Prime Minister Curtin lived in Western Australia and his successor Ben Chifley in Bathurst.

The original House of Representatives had 75 Members each representing an average of 50,000 residents. The House now has 150 members each representing about 158,000 residents and by the Constitution the House of Representatives is required to be approximately twice the size of the Senate. If the population rises to 40 Million, as advocated by some groups, and current levels are maintained, then the House would have about 267 Members and the Senate about 152 which may prove both unworkable and unaffordable.

The last factor to consider is the layout and procedures of the Parliament itself. If you watch 'Question Time' in the House of Representatives, you will notice that Speaker is not independent. That the ergonomics of the House are unhealthy and uncomfortable and in the case of the 'Front Benches' lacking in any desk facilities and modesty.

The procedures of voting (voices and/or divisions) are archaic and extremely costly in time and personnel. Members could and should vote electronically, without moving from their seating and the tallying would be both accurate and immediate.

As for accommodation there are already rumblings that the Current Parliament House is too small to house the required staff and functions so it will be unable to cope with the increases caused by population growth.

In regards to function, I personally believe the Speaker needs to exert greater control over decorum and the Leaders of the House should ensure that questions are correctly phrased in the first instance or lose their place in the queue. The example we broadcast to the world and present to visitors in the Gallery does us little favour.

I hope this information assists in a more informed debate on the future of the Government of our Country and leads to an improvement and streamlining of both process and cost. It is not enough to just say Republic or Monarchy, it is necessary to understand implications and the costs of continuation and the costs of change in social as well as economic terms.