The Senators are there to represent a wide cross section of our community, including minorities. The government is formed in the House of Representatives where the party or parties that command a majority of seats in the House will form the government. Our forefathers, in framing the Commonwealth Constitution, had the foresight to make sure that the Senate, besides representing the interests of the individual states, would also have a role to make sure government legislation was not necessarily and excessively repressive of minority interests.
Our proportional representation system of voting for the Senate is to make sure that even minorities will have a voice in our parliamentary processes.
All governments, Labor and coalition, ALWAYS complain about the Senate, that the Senate frustrates "the will of the people", but they always ignore the fact that the senators are also elected by the people to represent them in the senate. The senators are not there to kow-tow to members of the House of Representatives.
sailorgirl, broaden your mind and think a bit deeper, you certainly would not want a Labor government, which you detest, to have control of the Senate which will give it unfettered ability to pass legislation to its heart's content.
I do not want to see a situation where the majority can do whatever it likes.
In the past 2 or 3 decades, our governments had not had control of the Senate, and I believe our country is better because of that.
