Our Senate is supposed to act

as the "states' house" and as the safety valve on the pressure cooker which is parliament.

Its role as the states' house has long since given away to one divided by party politics. It seems now it is no longer acting as the safety valve either. Yesterday one fiery Senator walked out when censured for remarks about Muslims, another called the same Senator and those who support her party "the filth of this country" and a third gave what can only be described as a sermon about Ramadan.

These things should not be happening in the Senate, or indeed in the House of Representatives.  The fiery Senator is known for those sort of remarks. She has been making them since she entered politics. The fact she keeps being re-elected suggests that many of those in her home state agree with her views. Her party appears to be making inroads in other states as well. The upcoming election in this state will be a test of whether it can succeed in becoming a viable opposition rather than simply the holder of a handful of seats. If they do win more than one or two seats then the other major parties need to look at what it is people are saying they want and modifying those views so they become reasoned and workable policies. 

I am less concerned by that than the Senator who quit the party which helped elect her and has turned on it and everyone else. She is also being deliberately provocative and is much harder to touch, let alone censure. To do so would lead others open to accusations of "racism" because she makes much of her 3x great-grandmother being an indigenous person. Her family apparently feel differently but it is ground on which others tread very cautiously and, likely, with good cause. As an "independent" she may not get re-elected but 2028 is a long way off.

The other Senator is very conscious of being Muslim and makes sure others know it. She does not however wear the hijab in the chamber. Her views are also provocative in their own way. At every opportunity she will bring up issues relating to Muslims and the Islamic faith and the problems associated with, as she sees it, being Muslim in a country which does not follow Sharia law. Her speech in the Senate related to Ramadan and what it is claimed to mean and how it is observed. It was delivered as a sermon might be delivered in a church or a synagogue. Her intention was clear. She was intent on educating the Senate. That may be no bad thing in itself but if a Christian attempted to educate Senators about Lent or a Jew attempted to educate Senators about Pesach I am certain they would be censured. 

All this suggests the way our Senate is intended to function is being undermined. It is interesting that all three Senators participating in that yesterday are women...or should that be, identify as women?