Testing times for our federal MPs

“There is no point in us coming up with a solution in parliament which then doesn’t pass in the courts. That is causing chaos.” — federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten

I WONDER if it’s times like these when former Prime Minister John Howard regrets no longer being in politics.

It has nothing to do with the performance — good or otherwise — of Malcolm Turnbull as PM, or the strength of the Opposition, being a power walker on the world stage or the standard of political debate in this country.

No, it has to do with his other passion — cricket.

Mr Howard is a self-confessed cricket tragic; some would argue there is no greater example of this than that deliv- ery he attempted to bowl while touring earthquake-ravaged Pakistan in 2005. Actually, he didn’t so much bowl the ball as seem to forget to let go.

His flawed bowling technique aside, I feel he could draw parallels between Parliament today and the Australian dressing room. Once upon a time there was a feeling that it was harder to get out of the Australian Test side than into it. Particularly if you were from New South Wales, Especially if you were Mark Waugh. That sentiment seems to be resonating through both the Upper and Lower House in Canberra as both sides grapple with the increasingly embarrassing state of affairs known as the “citizenship scandal”. How hard can it be to determine whether or not you are eligible to run for office, let alone hold on to your seat? Just ask Stephen McGain. When it emerged that he was ineligible to stand in the recent Geelong council election by virtue of his position as a casual lifeguard at a council-run pool, his race was over before it had really started.

It was clean, it was clinical, it was decisive. It was the law.

People who apply for a Working With Children card have to go through a justifiably thorough examination. Should any less be expected of the MPs who create the laws by which we are all governed?

Perhaps they need a Working With Everyone card as proof that they have been vetted.

It was Einstein who is credited with the observation that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Right now, that sounds more like a description of federal Parliament.