Effective expulsion would fulfil the desires of more than a million people who have petitioned for his sacking following his comments after the Christchurch attack
The Greens are hoping Fraser Anning will become only the second senator to be suspended from the chamber in 16 years, a move which would bring a premature end to his parliamentary career and fulfil the desires of more than 1 million people petitioning for the Queensland senator to be sacked.
The Greens leader Richard Di Natale has written to both Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten asking for their parties’ support in suspending Anning from both sittings and Senate estimates for two weeks, using the standing orders.
The move, if successful, would in effect expel the Queensland senator from the parliament. The next election must be held in May and Anning, as an independent senator, has almost no chance of achieving the full Senate quota required for re-election.
Di Natale and the Greens are seeking support to have the Senate note Anning’s “shameful” comments following the Christchurch mosque massacres, as well as the censure motion both parties have agreed to when parliament resumes early next month, and go one step further and suspend him from the chamber.
“We have received advice that the Senate can pass a motion that suspends senator Anning from performing duties in the Senate chamber and in Senate estimates,” Di Natale wrote to both Morrison and Shorten.
“This suspension, would, in effect, expel him from the parliament.”
Under changes to the Parliamentary Privileges Act in 1987, the power for MPs to expel a fellow member from the parliament was removed, in line with the constitution, which sets out the houses of parliament are to be “directly chosen by the people”.
