Mark: Govt using covid19 for power grab

OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark on Wednesday accused the Government of a virtual grab for power "under the cover of covid” as he spoke on the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2020, piloted earlier by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.

Lamenting that each senator now has just 20 minutes to talk, Mark complained the bill alters 18 different acts in one go.

"If that is not an abuse of the parliamentary process, I don’t know what is," he said. “I must record what I discern to be a very dangerous trend that is emerging in this Parliament.”

He asked aloud if it is the Government's strategy to use miscellaneous provisions bills to amend scores of different bills.

“It is worsening by the day.”

He said even worse was the AG's claim that the bill was connected to covid19.

"The majority of these measures here have absolutely no connection whatsoever to covid.”

Mark said the Government sought to frustrate the Opposition from scrutinising the bill.

He dubbed the bill “a hodgepodge of amendments, crafted together without rhyme or reason” with no discernible thread to link them all.

“The sheer number of amendments to be considered by this Senate, and the number of pieces of legislation involved, seriously curtail the ability of any member to properly and effectively scrutinise the legislation."

Mark said the time restrictions have helped emaciate the parliamentary process as a bulwark against authoritarian rule and dictatorship.

“It is an indictment on this Government and the sitting Attorney General, as guardians of the Constitution, to allow parliamentary process and scrutiny to be undermined in this fashion.”

Mark considered the bill’s contents “dangerous legislation under the cover of covid. Its almost a grab for power.”

Chided by Senate President Christine Kangaloo, he vowed to take the issue to the political platform in general election 2020.

He urged the AG to table the Law Association’s proposals on the bill that he had received and rejected.

“It cannot be the Law Association is making proposals to the AG and he is just throwing them out of the window whimsically and arbitarily.”

Mark said the Senate had debated the Magistrates Protection Act at length to reach a compromise, yet a year later the Government now acted like a dictator to shift magistrates' immunity (for their rulings) from that act to the Summary Courts Act. He said ordinary people should be able to sue any magistrate who maliciously prosecuted them.

“It is not only dangerous but reckless and highly irresponsible to remove protections for ordinary people and give blanket immunity for magistrates.”

Further down the bill, Mark said in clause six the AG was trying to give himself powers under the Limitation of Certain Actions Act.

“We do not believe the AG should have that power. I want to give notice to the AG you are not a law maker on your own. We reject that concept.”

Mark opposed the bill also giving the AG similar powers under the Companies Act.

Hequeried three clauses which alter confidentiality under the Income Tax Act, Central Bank Act and Financial Institutions Act.

“This is whistleblowing legislation through the back-door."

He said these clauses, 14-16, offer no safeguards or checks and balances.

Mark said the measures bring an unacceptable level of vagueness by widening the scope for an officer/employee of agencies like the Board of Inland Revenue, Central Bank or private banks to disclose information to the police.

Mark said a British court case on tax had deemed confidential information to be property, noting property enjoys constitutional protection.

“So I want to warn the AG, you are on a constitutional collision course. You’d better back-back and withdraw, otherwise you’ll end up in court.”

Previously, the House of Representatives passed the bill on April 29.