My thoughts on the operation of congress
Day 2,411, 22:56
•
Published in Australia 
•
by
•
by Bree K
Hi EAustralia
Congress has been assembled and we're discussing MPPs and global affairs. Again I refer to the prime minister for official statements on those announcements.
One thing has been bothering me so far though and thanks to Guagature for taking the lead to clean up the message threads. that goes a fair way to keeping the discussion on track. It comes down to bulk and congress involvement.
The bulk i'm referring to comes from the level of detail put into discussion items. It's very thorough and no criticism for lack of information but going into a new congress me and a couple of others can follow it but I am sure we have first time members somewhere. best to keep it simple for a while to avoid disorienting members.
Without going into specifics some of the issues the level of congress involvement also concerns me. The subjects are foreign policy related and as of yet there's been little hard guidance from the executive to the congress. The other possibility is that congress is thinking too much into its role.
Back when we had laws in EAus the role of the old senate on foreign affairs was to advise the government and vote as qualified. Some congresses chose to buck the law and that's for another discussion. What can't be disputed was that the prime minister had near total authority on foreign affairs decisions with a line vote to approve. I can't see what's different here even without the old senate or Constitution.
Congress has an important role on domestic matters and tax. we don't have to agree with the executive and there's a place for those rebellions but i don't believe its right they should occur in congress. The rest is for politics to sort out.
Please don't get me wrong i am not criticising any person or official but i'm sharing my thoughts in the hope we can avoid problems where we can. If citizens have any questions they would like me to take to the government on their behalf I am at your service. Comment below or send me a message.
Thanks
🙂
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Comments
Voted
Well as I said before it is up to Senate to redefine their role as such in this ''new Australia'', if they want legislation, speakers and such all they have to do is propose and discuss on the new forums and vote. Nobody said they couldn't have them and in fact nobody said they wouldn't be brought back. As vanquisher of the unelected appointed senate we had in times of wipes the only objection I had was being over ruled by people who are unelected where as when i was President i had the mandate from the people via the ballot box. I always said i would work with an elected senate and bowed to them when i was caretaker CP...as they were the elected officials and I was the appointee.
Finally I remember congress/senate before the closure of the old forums. Budget discussions were commented on by two senators, alliance membership votes in the voting hall was done by three senators, and even with a thread from the CP saying he had left the game and articles at the top of the media we have the majority vote against a much needed impeachment...so I kind of like seeing congress get more involved, ask questions and earn that 5 gold...but it just goes to show if you scrap the red tape then people aren't afraid to get involved and thing run smoother. 🙂
v5 subs28
our MoFA and Congressmen should be cooperates for some issues and MPP's. Fixed everythings then our CP's be the ONE whos push the BUTTON..just my suggestion 😉 tks
Hugh i don't have any issue with what's on but I dunno I can see the way it's handled could end up silly.
eg if the prime minister wants MPP 1, 2 and 3 tell congress that's her list and to vote for it. in my own opinion it would be immature of a congress member not to honour the pm on their foreign affairs decisions.
where this could get off the track is if too much is left to congress to mull over. As you said sometimes activity can give way to questioning what it's all worth and progress dies. I remember the old senate too and i'm trying to suggest how we can process business with a bit of excitement but not let it drag on.
within the confidence of the congress members you can see the message thread and how it's dragging a bit. My input is the prime minister needs to plant a foot and say good o i've advised you all now i want a vote and be done with it.
Otherwise we might all be put in a position where differences on policy emerge and we can't afford that since we just got congress back and in 25 days time we could be without it again. We all seem to be on the same page to use the time we have wisely. thanks
No I agree but sometimes senate is there to counter balance CP's...afterall both are elected representatives. Take the South Africa MPP...it's not a sensitive issue anyway as it is in the public eye...but a lot of Australians would be for it and there will definitely be some against. It's good for a CP to open a discussion rather than just demand otherwise it devalues senate somewhat. I would rather a feisty senate that questions for legitimate reasons (rather than personal ones) than one that just lies there, rolls over and has their belly tickled by the CP for being good girls/boys.
As for senate activity, well the in-game PM is meant to work hand in hand with the forums because some do not like to sign up to them...but from when I was involved up to a few days ago it did seem more active in 24 hours than the entire senate from the previous two months when we were previously on the map. That was something that pleased me a lot.
I understand your reasons and they're not bad ones. I support the purpose of a senate too but i suppose we don't agree on powers. I certainly do not believe the senate to be equal to the prime minister on foreign affairs matters. if they were that meant senate could hijack the pm during the budget and hold up supply of money if there was a precedent on MPP disagreement. For better or worse the old senate is definitely gone and there were good points and bad points. there's a big danger zone around the bad and for my input i want that old to stay gone.