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Due to the fact the Minister of Information has been MIA for a while I feel as though I shall take it upon myself to update the citizens about the recent Senate news. First off the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker have taken place. Due to the fact there were no challengers for dSpeaker, Senator Patrick Reckitt is the new Deputy Speaker for the July-August term. The battle for Speaker on the other hand was a close race. In one corner was the reigning Speaker, Melchizedek Smith, and reigning Deputy Speaker Newt Gingrich (Me). When it as all said and done Melchizedek Smith was re-elected Speaker by 1 vote. Finally the last most recent election was that of Inspector General; the candidates were reigning IG, Alex Australis and Johnathon Brown. Alex Australis was re-elected by a decent margin.

Now that elections within the senate have been decided let us move on to the most recent pieces of legislation this term. The first bill proposed was done so by Senator TheBlackAdder, Freedom of Information Act Amendment. What this bill would do is make the Voting Hall area of the Senate Forum accessible for viewing to all eAustralian citizens. This allows citizens to be able to see the proposals being voted on and how their elected officials are voting. Keeping them accountable to the citizens. This proposal is currently being voted on.

The second proposal put forth this semester was originally a discussion about the possiblity of having a second Deputy Speaker to aid in senate operations, which eventually became the Deputy Speaker Position Amendment. This new second Deputy Speaker would be given to the Senator who came in second place in the Speaker voting tally. It was proposed by Inspector General Alex Australis but originally brought to light by Senator Xavier Griffith. This one is also currently being voted on.

The third and fourth proposals this term have been proposed by the Deputy Speaker, Patrick Reckitt. The first is the Release of Sensitive Information Amendment; which would set the timeline for Sensitive Issues be released to the Senate library and make them viewable to the public. The second one is The Senate Public Information Act. This bill would provide the public with a weekly report on the non-sensitive activities of the Senate, produced by the Speaker or his/her Deputy. Both of these bills are currently still in the discussion phase.

I am Senator Newt Gingrich and I feel that the people should be informed on what is going on. For those of you citizens who want to learn more about the Senate or feel they have ideas to make the Senate better feel free to PM me any time. Also for those who have no idea where any of this Senate stuff takes place make sure to sign up on the forums here: http://forum.auserepublik.com/index.php

Sincerely,

Senator Newt Gingrich
Former Deputy Speaker of the Senate
Australian National Party Congressional Liaison
CEO Gingrich Enterprises and Editor-in-Chief Gingrich Tribune