In response to the recently announced Inquiry into international armed conflict decision making, Liberal MP Andrew Wallace told The Guardian that he was “surprised that the Labor party is even contemplating” a change to the system that had “stood us in good stead for many many years.”
“The executive has got to be given the power to govern the country and particularly in relation to national security issues. I don’t care whether it’s Labor or Liberal – they can’t be hamstrung by the parliament,” Wallace said.
Mr Wallace is deputy chair of the The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade’s defence subcommittee, which is handling the inquiry. Some of his reasoning, as reported by the Guardian, concerns minor parties or independents holding the balance of power in parliament.
“If we had a situation where the Greens are holding the balance of power in the Senate, or maybe even independents are holding the balance of power in the House of Representatives, someone who could be ideologically opposed to any conflict could act in a way which is significantly contrary to our national interests,” he said.
Staff writers who have worked on one or more of our special investigative projects include Zacharias Zsumer (War Powers), Stephanie Tran, Tasha May and Luke Stacey.
