If ever there was a ruling authority that needed prayer, it's the NSW State Government.
Recently I wrote about the good governance outcomes that can come with a fixed term parliament. Unlike the Federal sphere, where the date of an election is at the whim of the Prime Minister, NSW State Parliament operates under a four-year fixed term. This means that the next State election will take place on 26 March 2011, after the Federal election, which is due in the second half of 2010.
To paraphrase the psalmist, how long must we wait, O Lord? Twenty months until the next State poll seems like a very long way off. Moreover, last week's proceedings in Macquarie Street were nothing short of a shambles, feeding the impression of a government that has run out of puff.
To recap events, the State Labor Government was in danger of losing yet another vote in the Legislative Council, the upper house of NSW Parliament. Rather than sensibly negotiating with the opposition parties, the government's sole duty minister simply walked out of the chamber. Under the Standing Orders, the President had to terminate proceedings without adjournment, leaving the House in limbo-land.
Now it takes more than one opposition party to bring about a string of losing votes, so the fault does not lie with any single group. Moreover, there was a healthy degree of political opportunism and brinkmanship on the non-government side, as parties tried to broker deals over legislation, and in the case of the Liberal/National opposition, vote against elements of its own policy.
The Labor Government's capacity and strategies for dealing with a House it does not control is in tatters. Why this is so remains a mystery. Since the early 1980s, rarely have Federal and State governments of all political hues had control of upper houses. Yet the business of government continued.
Losing an issue in a hostile upper house is a political reality that major parties have come to face, albeit reluctantly. Given this experience, NSW Labor should be better prepared to deal with all the checks and balances of parliamentary democracy.