Lee Rhiannon says Labor must not support the Liberal party at the expense of the Greens and Derryn Hinch

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The New South Wales Greens senator Lee Rhiannon has warned Labor to abide by fairer Senate rules in the allocation of six and three-year Senate terms following the double dissolution election.

“If Labor supports the first-six-elected method rather than the fairer method of a half Senate recount then Labor will be helping the Coalition boost their Senate numbers at the next election,” Rhiannon said.

“The main reason for is that under a recount method [Justice party’s] Derryn Hinch wins a long-term Senate seat at the expense of a Liberal senator.”

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At issue is how long senators have before they face the next election. Senators are elected on six-year terms but only half the Senate faces an election at the end of every three-year House of Representatives term.

Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to call a double-dissolution election means the Senate needs to determine which senators are on a three-year term and which are on a six-year term, in order to fall back into the usual election pattern.



There are two counting methods which are available to the Senate. The first, which has been used historically in double dissolutions, sees the first six of 12 state senators receive the six year terms and the remainder appointed for three years. The second is a Hawke government reform known as section 282 which creates a second Senate count to allocate positions that more closely replicate a half-Senate election.

“Section 282 is more democratic and the Senate has acknowledged that on previous occasions,” Rhiannon said. “If the crossbenchers are interested in reducing the power of the major party duopoly then they would support the fairer recount method.”

The Australian Electoral Commission has yet to conduct the second count but the Senate is not legally committed to use the s282 results to determine the terms. Previously the “first six” method has been used.

An early analysis by data expert, Grahame Bowland, who is also co-convenor for the Western Australia Greens, found that under the s282 count, Rhiannon and Hinch would receive six-year terms over Victorian Liberal Scott Ryan and NSW Labor senator Deb O’Neill.

If the Australian Electoral Commission second Senate counts supports that analysis (and Bowland’s work has mirrored the AEC count thus far), this would force the major parties to decide whether to marginalise Hinch and the Greens, who have a balance of power bloc, or support longer terms for their own senators.

Newly elected senators have yet to receive their offices and staff allocations but unions have already begun lobbying the crossbench to reject the Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation.

The fate of the bill still hangs in the balance after the double dissolution called to reinstate the tougher building industry regulator.

After the Senate results were finalised on Thursday, the government and unions are likely to focus on the Nick Xenophon Team, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Victorian senator, Derryn Hinch, who are still undecided on the bill.

The bill will first go through the House of Representatives and then to the Senate. If it is rejected there, the government can introduce it to a joint sitting where a total of 114 votes are needed to pass it.

The bill’s prospects have been boosted by the re-election of senators David Leyonhjelm and Bob Day, who both support it.

If the Coalition can count on MP Cathy McGowan, who supported the bill in the last parliament, it has 109 votes for the bill in a joint sitting.

There are 108 MPs and senators opposed to the bill, including Labor, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie, Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie, the latter two of who voted to abolish the body in 2012.

Katter has been particularly vocal, warning the prime minister not to “antagonise” him by proceeding with legislation to restore the ABCC.

There are nine undecided votes: three NXT senators and Rebekha Sharkie in the lower house, four Pauline Hanson One Nation senators, and Hinch.

Current numbers suggest the bill could pass with two or three of Xenophon, Hanson and Hinch supporting it, provided Hanson and Xenophon’s parties vote as a bloc.

This is not assured, as newly elected One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts noted on Thursday his first allegiance is to Queensland and Hanson “told me and every other candidate, if you disagree with the party, you have a responsibility to cross the floor”.

The ABCC is a watchdog for construction unions with compulsory investigation powers and the authority to clamp down on unlawful pickets.

A spokesman for Hanson told Guardian Australia the party had not made a decision yet but Hanson supported those sentiments. Hanson had already met with unions, other organisations and the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, he said.



Hinch said he was still undecided but had meetings scheduled with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Labor to discuss the bill.

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Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union construction national secretary, Dave Noonan, told Guardian Australia “we’ll seek to put the case for equality before the law and a balanced approach to industrial relations to the crossbench”.

On Thursday Xenophon said he had made clear he would support the ABCC bill at the second reading stage so it can be further debated.

“But I wanted a number of amendments in relation to occupational health and safety, the Australian building code and Australian content,” he said.