Rudd is unlikely to be trigger happy

01 December 2009Don't expect the government to rush to a double dissolution, says George Williams in the National Times

THE PROSPECT of a double dissolution has been talked up all year. Now it seems the legislation for an emissions trading scheme may finally provide the means to hold one.

Under section 57 of the constitution, persistent disagreement between the houses of federal parliament enables the government to send the whole of both houses to the people for re-election. If the government wins the ballot, and the disagreement persists, a joint sitting of both houses can vote to pass the disputed bills.

There have been six double dissolutions, the last in 1987. Only the 1974 poll was followed by a joint sitting. It enabled the Whitlam government to have a number of bills passed, including one that brought about what has become the Medicare scheme...

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George Williams is the Anthony Mason professor of law at the University of NSW

Photo: iStockphoto.com

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