Bully Kim Carr’s bizarre tantrum in Senate Estimates
23-February-2011
After turning up late to his own Estimates hearing today, Kim Carr flew into a rage about shadow minister Sophie Mirabella wanting to record the proceedings of the day.
It is the role of the Opposition to scrutinise the work of Government and therefore it would be logical to be able to have a recording of the proceedings today.
Unusually, the hearings have been moved into a room which has no TV broadcast technology. Therefore this morning’s Estimates will not be broadcast. If the Economics Committee can’t be afforded the basic broadcasting rights then the Shadow Minister has to record her own proceedings in order to respond to any relevant matters in a timely manner.
Will Kim Carr now object to the media from recording today’s proceedings which are open to the public?
As a result of this morning’s disagreements in the committee room, Liberal Senator from Western Australia, Senator Alan Eggleston, Deputy Chair of the Economics Committee, moved a motion of dissent in the ruling that Mrs Mirabella could not have a recording device in the room. As a result, in a rare victory for Opposition scrutiny, Mrs Mirabella has been granted permission to sit at a table, observe proceedings and record proceedings on her recording device.
This is paranoid behaviour from a Minister who has lost control of policy in his portfolio and should be dumped.