Senate roles win Hendo’s praise
ABOUT 30 senators Australia-wide have begun their job interview with the Australian people as they seek a six-year term in office at the election on Saturday.
They include Geelongbased Liberal senator Sarah Henderson.
Senator Henderson, who has a focus on legal and constitutional affairs, said the Senate was vital to our democracy.
“The Senate is not only the house of review but it’s also the chamber which passes legislation,” she said.
“No law is made in the parliament unless it’s passed by the Senate.
“We run frequent Bill inquiries into proposed legislation and that is a really important part of our democracy.
“It does mean that any Australian, including key stakeholders, impacted by proposed legislation can make a submission to a Senate inquiry and be heard, and as a result of the work that we do through the Senate committee system we’ve proposed by recommendation some significant amendments to legislation at times.
“Then that’s been brought forward to the parliament.”
Senator Henderson said the senate estimates process, whereby the spending and decision making of government departments and organisations was scrutinised, was also essential for a well-functioning democracy.
“The senate estimates is important because it puts all government departments and agencies on notice that they are completely accountable to the Australian people,” she said.
Senator Henderson said the senate estimates process had uncovered how Defence plans to roll out the howitzer selfpropelled gun project at Avalon.
“It’s a really great opportunity to ask senior defence personnel about Defence expenditure here in our region,” she said.
“I was able to go into senate estimates … and ask the Department of Defence about the level of expenditure, the timeline, the benefits for our region and the reason for this project.”
Senator Henderson said she, with others, was responsible for the senate estimates process relating to the Home Affairs Department and the Attorney-General’s Department, which included the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Border Force.
She said the senate estimates process recently discovered issues with the running of the Human Rights Commission and poor record-keeping practices in that organisation.