Constitutional Obscurity
Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 2:52 pmA small story on page 24 of the SM today caught my eye.
"Law professor Rick Sarre will quit his job as a university lecturer in order to run for Federal Parliament, under an obscure section of the Constitution forbidding people such as public school teachers to run for Federal Office."
The Section (44) specifically says that you sit in Parlaiment (either house) if you hold "an office of profit under the Crown."
That means becuase his emplyer (UniSA) gets Federal funding, he can't run for Parliament.
Personally, I think a learned person (such as a lecturer) is the sort of person we do want in Parliament, rather than "career polititans" who work their whole life trying to get pre-selected, then elected, and from then on don't try and achieve anything, other than their continued re-election.
FYI- he's going to run against Christopher Pyne in Sturt....
"Law professor Rick Sarre will quit his job as a university lecturer in order to run for Federal Parliament, under an obscure section of the Constitution forbidding people such as public school teachers to run for Federal Office."
The Section (44) specifically says that you sit in Parlaiment (either house) if you hold "an office of profit under the Crown."
That means becuase his emplyer (UniSA) gets Federal funding, he can't run for Parliament.
Personally, I think a learned person (such as a lecturer) is the sort of person we do want in Parliament, rather than "career polititans" who work their whole life trying to get pre-selected, then elected, and from then on don't try and achieve anything, other than their continued re-election.
FYI- he's going to run against Christopher Pyne in Sturt....
