OK - maybe Im being completely mad getting into this on social media but here goes. I am currently running for Preselection in the Greens for a position on the Legislative Council ticket at the next election. In case people werent aware - the use of the title The Honourable is a big deal to some of our members. The party passed a motion in 2010 requesting our MLCs not take the title, but several have chosen not to follow this request. I have been asked a very pointed question as to whether or not I would take the title if I were elected. This is my response: It is relevant to note that since this request from the SDC, four Greens members of the Legislative Council have used the title, The Honourable and three have not. Two members who do not use the title are referred to in the chamber as Doctor, recognising their educational standing. While arguments are made that the use of honourifics are the last vestiges of British rule and should be done away with, the reality is that doctorates originated in the corporate universities of medieval England. And whereas artisans trained for years to join artisan guilds and be recognised as Master Craftsman in a similar time, today we just call them tradies. So lets keep all this is perspective. There are arguments for and against the use of the title but this issue is less one of substance and more of certain groups in the party using an issue to force people to take sides. It is a straw-man. My view is that to be most effective in the Parliament and achieve the policy objectives of our Party, our MPs need to be able to work within the Parliamentary system. We have to be careful not to delegitimise our role before our MPs even take the floor of the Parliament, ask their first question or engage in committee and parliamentary debate. It is often more effective to influence other MPs and engage the public when you look the part but act and say the opposite to the status quo. We often forget that many other MPs dont see Greens MPs and ideas as having merit or being honourable - they want to delegitimise us. It gets up their nose when they have to recognise our legitimate place in the Parliament and that is only reinforced by using the honorific. For some, the use of the title is also a reminder of the deep responsibility that comes with taking on that role on behalf of the party and the NSW public and dare I say it is a reminder to be honourable in their actions. At the end of the day I dont know any Greens MPs who have used the title who dont turn up to Greens events wearing shorts and thongs and engaging like they are just another member of the Greens. But how they best deliver against Greens policy through the Parliament is much more of interest to me and I think it should be up to them how they define themselves in that place. I would use the title. Oh - and did you hear the one about climate change being a threat to civilisation as we know it?
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 14:42:53 +0000
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