1st Parliament of South America

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker, can we open nominations for the election of a new Speaker as our first order of business?

[Oakvale]

I second the nomination of Barnes for Speaker.

[Oakvale]

Convention would suggest that the Speaker be a Member and this government is committed to following that principle with the nomination of the honorable Barnes.

[Oakvale]

Aye.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

In my role as Minister for Justice, I have today introduced the Constitution of South America Act on behalf of the government, outlining and codifying the structures of this nation. It builds upon and clarifies the work done by the Provisional Parliament, and, after consultation with the rest of the Cabinet, I welcome any input from those members on the opposition benches and indeed those in government who are outside of Cabinet.

We have authored this act not as a fait accompli, but as a necessary and limited foundation upon which to build - it is not a list of The Rights Of Man or specific policies, but a necessary and functional document aimed at outlining the fundamental structures in which we operate and to address the concerns raised during the election period.

Upon passage of the Constitution, and with the first 'establishing act', namely the election of your good self and the passage of the rules of order, the Prime Minister will address the house and formally seek the confidence of Parliament in the government's policy agenda.

To paraphrase an old poem, two roads diverged in a yellow wood - one led to a healthy and vibrant democracy, full of life and with thriving debate. Another led to Atlasia. Mr. Speaker, let us take the road less travelled.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

I should note that the issue raised by the honourable member in reference to binding future parliaments (with regards to the majority for passage vs. two-thirds for further amendments) was one I considered during the drafting, and in fact my initial proposal required a two-thirds majority for initial passage. I also considered a public referendum. I ultimately rejected this for practical reasons - we need a 'bare bones' Constitution sooner rather than later, and this government received a very strong mandate, in fact barely short of two thirds to establish the structures of the nation.

I would add that under no circumstances should any legislation other than the Constitution, which is and must be considered a special case, should require such a majority to amend.

I also disagree entirely with the argument made by the leader of the Worker's Party.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

After consulting with my colleagues and members from across the floor, I would be open to accepting the leader of the Pioneers' amendment were he to offer to remove the referendum requirement - popular vote is no way to deal with issues in a parliamentary system.

[Oakvale]

Constitutions should be malleable, so I oppose any text that proposes hard and strict vote totals above a simple majority to change them. We shouldn't enslave future generations to the prejudices of the moment. That's a big part of why Atlasia was and is garbage.

A two-thirds majority isn't really a particularly steep hill to climb - with 11 seats required for a majority, a government with a bare majority would only need to win over three members of the opposition to pass an amendment.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

After further consideration of points raised by my honourable friends and members of the opposition, I offer the following amendment -

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Oakvale]

Amendment No.1- Nay
Amendment No.2-Nay

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker, I motion for a third reading vote.

[Oakvale]

AYE.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

Today marks an important step on the road to building this new republic. I would especially like to thank all those members of the opposition who put aside their political differences with this government in the interests of the nation and voted for this Constitution. We now have a Constitution, and we have achieved this quickly and without the tedious legalism that has collapsed nations in the past.

Problems lie ahead, of course. In our own land, rebels and drug cartels continue to wreak havoc. Myriad economic challenges face our constituent nations. To our north, the pigheaded isolationists squawk and squeal at the thought of granting our nation diplomatic recognition. But this government stands ready to meet these challenges. With that in mind, the Prime Minister will now move to holding a vote on a motion of confidence on a sweeping policy agenda that will continue our work in moving South America forward.

[Oakvale]

To address the honorable member's concerns, there's no need for the Constitution, which was of course by popular and internal government demand written to be minimal, to address the exact specifics of resignation procedure. By longstanding convention, a resigning MP will be automatically replaced by the next unelected member on the party list.

[Oakvale]

AYE.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

This is a highly unusual set of circumstances, but given that the Socialist Party has passed a motion declaring him inactive and that he has made no appearance in this house, the government has no particular objection to revoking Mr. CrabCake's mandate and replacing him with the relevant candidate on the party list. This may be clarified in statute at a later date.

I do however think it is premature for Mr. Cranberry to be already calling himself an honorable member without any indication of his appointment from your good self.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

I have today introduced the Resolving Procedural Issues Act to clarify some of the remaining issues surrounding the replacement of Members. I thank the members of the Opposition for raising some of these important concerns, but the government believes that their proposed solution was inappropriate, not least because we believed the restriction were too narrow. I hope this legislation can be brought to a vote speedily.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

I understand the reasoning of the Leader of the Opposition, but it's my belief that we should try to avoid whenever possible parties "parachuting in" candidates when the people voted on an open list of candidates. It's not difficult to imagine a situation whereby a party runs a list of popular candidates and in the event of a resignation promptly fills the position with a Member more acceptable to the party leadership but with less of a mandate from the public.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

I motion to end debate and move for a third reading.

[Oakvale]

Nay.

[Oakvale]

Mr. Speaker,

I think all South Americans can agree that it is in our best interests to move this for a final vote as soon as practically possible so we can put structural issues behind us and get on with the important business of public policy. I motion for a vote.

[Oakvale]

AYE.

[Oakvale]

Glad to see this happening, Mr. Speaker.

[Oakvale]

Hear hear!

[Oakvale]

AYE.