Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hinted he could call a ‘double dissolution’ election after the Government failed to pass housing legislation this week.
The PM has accused the Greens and Coalition of teaming up to block the passage of key legislation in the Senate, where the Government does not have a majority.
If a bill fails to pass the Senate twice in the space of three months,
Albanese has the power to force the entire Parliament to run for re-election.
Government bills
Labor has a majority in the Lower House of the Federal Parliament.
In order for a bill to become law, it needs to pass both houses.
It’s rare for a Government to also control the Upper House (the Senate). Labor has 25 out of 76 seats, and relies on the support of either the Opposition, or the Greens and a handful of crossbenchers, to pass bills.
The Government has multiple bills currently stuck in the Senate because it doesn’t have enough support to pass them.
Help to Buy — a scheme where the Government would contribute to the purchase of a home in exchange for part ownership of the property.
Build to Rent — a tax concession for developers who agree to build multi-unit buildings where the units are rented out, instead of being sold.
Nature Positive — setting up a national environmental regulator, Environment Protection Australia.
None of these bills have enough support to pass the Senate.
“Blockers”
Albanese accused the Greens and Coalition of teaming up as “blockers” of Government legislation.
He said the parties are “playing politics rather than looking for the solutions”.
The Greens are calling for more ambitious housing and climate reforms, including scrapping tax discounts for owners of multiple properties.
Meanwhile, the Coalition are urging the Government to rein in spending, and are opposed to extra bureaucracy for environmental approvals.
The Senate
The current makeup of the Senate is:
Labor — 25
Coalition — 30
Greens — 11
One Nation — 2
Jacqui Lambie Network — 1
United Australia Party — 1
Independents — 6
Since the election, five Senators have left their parties:
Labor – Fatima Payman.
Coalition – Gerard Rennick, David Van.
Greens – Lidia Thorpe.
Jacqui Lambie Network – Tammy Tyrrell.
Double dissolution
If the Senate rejects the same bill twice in the space of three months, the Prime Minister has the power to call a double dissolution election.
That is where every seat in both houses of Parliament are open for re-election.
In a regular election, Australians vote for the whole House of Representatives and half of the Senate.
The double dissolution is seen as a way of breaking the deadlock in the Senate.
History
There have only been seven double dissolutions since Australia’s Federal Parliament was founded.
The last one was in 2016, when then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a double dissolution after a set of bills failed to pass the Senate twice.
The previous double dissolution occurred in 1983, when Bob Hawke won power for the Labor Party.
Last year, Anthony Albanese threatened a double dissolution over the Government’s initial failures to pass its key housing reforms.
Current debate
This week, Albanese said the Government would “wait and see” whether it would call a double dissolution.
Albanese threatened a double dissolution last year when his keynote housing policy, the Housing Australia Future Fund, was voted down in the Senate. The legislation eventually passed with support from the Greens.
Constitutional requirements mean Albanese has until 26 January to call a double dissolution election.
