Fed: Govt running from accountability: Swan

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2001
Fed: Govt running from accountability: Swan

CANBERRA, Dec 11 AAP - The federal government was running from public accountability
and had shown it had no third term agenda, Labor said today.

The manager of opposition business, Wayne Swan, said the parliamentary sitting timetable
released by the government yesterday showed parliament would sit just 33 days in the first
half of the year.

He said when parliament sat on February 12, 2002, it would have been 138 days since
the last session closed.

"It's not as if there are not important matters to debate," he said in a statement.

"The war against terrorism, border security and the crisis in our public health and
education systems all require the scrutiny of parliament.

"Given that the parliament only sat 15 weeks last year because of the election and
it has not sat since September 27 last year, the provision of 33 sitting days in the first
half of next year shows the Howard government is determined to do all it can to avoid
being held accountable by the parliament and the public."

Mr Swan said it was a disturbing start to the government's third term that it had restricted
sitting days and failed to fully endorse House Speaker Neil Andrew.

He said Labor was prepared to back a parliamentary reform agenda, but it appeared the
government was not.

"Avoidance of accountability and excessive partisanship are now key trademarks of the
Howard government's third term," he said.

AAP sw/daw/las/de

KEYWORD: PARLY SWAN

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