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| Scott Ryan on trust, partisanship and why he left Turnbull’s frontbench | Scott Ryan on trust, partisanship and why he left Turnbull’s frontbench |
| (2 months later) | |
| The new Senate president says he wasn’t fleeing stress or disappointment – he just wanted the job• How will new Senate president Scott Ryan command the chair? – podcast | |
| Katharine Murphy Political editor | |
| Thu 23 Nov 2017 17.00 GMT | |
| Last modified on Thu 23 Nov 2017 21.18 GMT | |
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| The new Senate president, Scott Ryan, knows full well institutions in the modern era have fallen on hard times, with declining levels of public trust. | The new Senate president, Scott Ryan, knows full well institutions in the modern era have fallen on hard times, with declining levels of public trust. |
| But if politics is the art of compromise, of synthesis between competing ideas, trust is what the process requires. “I’ve always thought that trust was important to compromise,” Ryan says. | But if politics is the art of compromise, of synthesis between competing ideas, trust is what the process requires. “I’ve always thought that trust was important to compromise,” Ryan says. |
| Ryan left a frontbench role in the Turnbull government last week to take up the Senate presidency, which was vacated suddenly by Stephen Parry, who ran into problems with a dual citizenship. | Ryan left a frontbench role in the Turnbull government last week to take up the Senate presidency, which was vacated suddenly by Stephen Parry, who ran into problems with a dual citizenship. |
| It is pretty unusual to parachute out of a ministry into a presiding officer role when you are only 44 – to aspire to the ceremonial rather than the power plays of cabinet, or the Victorian Liberal party. | It is pretty unusual to parachute out of a ministry into a presiding officer role when you are only 44 – to aspire to the ceremonial rather than the power plays of cabinet, or the Victorian Liberal party. |
| Ryan is very much a political animal, and an obsessive about his vocation, although he does not conduct himself with the tribal thuggishness characteristic of the political age. | Ryan is very much a political animal, and an obsessive about his vocation, although he does not conduct himself with the tribal thuggishness characteristic of the political age. |
| But Ryan tells Guardian Australia’s Politics Live podcast he was not fleeing stress or disappointment of one kind or another – he just wanted the job. | But Ryan tells Guardian Australia’s Politics Live podcast he was not fleeing stress or disappointment of one kind or another – he just wanted the job. |
| He insists he was not, as some commentators speculated, deserting Malcolm Turnbull’s sinking ship, or motivated to take a less punishing role for health reasons, after a bout of serious illness earlier in the year. “If you believed everything you read about yourself in politics, you’d be a very depressed person,” the Senate president says. | He insists he was not, as some commentators speculated, deserting Malcolm Turnbull’s sinking ship, or motivated to take a less punishing role for health reasons, after a bout of serious illness earlier in the year. “If you believed everything you read about yourself in politics, you’d be a very depressed person,” the Senate president says. |
| Ryan says he wanted the job because, as a former student and teacher of politics, he has always valued the concept of independent parliamentary checks and he is a believer in the value of institutions, including one of the most powerful upper houses in the democratic world. | Ryan says he wanted the job because, as a former student and teacher of politics, he has always valued the concept of independent parliamentary checks and he is a believer in the value of institutions, including one of the most powerful upper houses in the democratic world. |
| He says he has always been a champion of his chamber, the Senate, and colleagues encouraged him to step forward when Parry created a problem with his sudden departure. “I thought this was something I could do well.” | He says he has always been a champion of his chamber, the Senate, and colleagues encouraged him to step forward when Parry created a problem with his sudden departure. “I thought this was something I could do well.” |
| Coming back to trust, Ryan says parliament is fundamentally a mechanism to resolve societal conflict and institutions work better when the inhabitants have a basic level of trust in one another. | Coming back to trust, Ryan says parliament is fundamentally a mechanism to resolve societal conflict and institutions work better when the inhabitants have a basic level of trust in one another. |
| “We send people [to Canberra] from all around the country, from very different backgrounds, experiences, identities, walks of life and we ask them to resolve conflicts,” he says. | “We send people [to Canberra] from all around the country, from very different backgrounds, experiences, identities, walks of life and we ask them to resolve conflicts,” he says. |
| Ryan says he does not have a magic formula that will restore trust in the parliamentary precinct, either between the inhabitants or between politicians and the frustrated public, but he knows that’s the bedrock. He knows he needs to be trusted in his new role. | Ryan says he does not have a magic formula that will restore trust in the parliamentary precinct, either between the inhabitants or between politicians and the frustrated public, but he knows that’s the bedrock. He knows he needs to be trusted in his new role. |
| When he first took the chair after his election to the position last Monday, Ryan characterised himself as a servant of the chamber. | When he first took the chair after his election to the position last Monday, Ryan characterised himself as a servant of the chamber. |
| It is a quaint thing to say but what does it mean in practice? “I no longer represent the government, the ministry and the decisions that are contestable in the parliament,” Ryan says, “I represent 76 senators and the institution of the Senate. | It is a quaint thing to say but what does it mean in practice? “I no longer represent the government, the ministry and the decisions that are contestable in the parliament,” Ryan says, “I represent 76 senators and the institution of the Senate. |
| “By being their servant, I am effectively the mouthpiece of the chamber.” | “By being their servant, I am effectively the mouthpiece of the chamber.” |
| Is he ready to take off his partisan hat? “Absolutely,” he says. | Is he ready to take off his partisan hat? “Absolutely,” he says. |
| He says he will continue to sit in the Liberal party room but not participate in debates – although he would like to be able to contribute during conscience votes in the chamber. He is currently seeking advice about whether that is possible. | He says he will continue to sit in the Liberal party room but not participate in debates – although he would like to be able to contribute during conscience votes in the chamber. He is currently seeking advice about whether that is possible. |
| Ryan says people have a tendency to underestimate the pressures that various institutions face, that we do not tend to question whether institutions are sufficiently robust or resilient until we enter periods of crisis. | Ryan says people have a tendency to underestimate the pressures that various institutions face, that we do not tend to question whether institutions are sufficiently robust or resilient until we enter periods of crisis. |
| He says the Australian Senate is here to stay, he doesn’t see any specific threats, but there is value in understanding and preserving the particular communities of interests that senators represent, as distinct from lower-house MPs representing geographical communities. | He says the Australian Senate is here to stay, he doesn’t see any specific threats, but there is value in understanding and preserving the particular communities of interests that senators represent, as distinct from lower-house MPs representing geographical communities. |
| Ryan also rejects the idea that the Australian Senate is a states house, in the way the US Senate is a states house. This idea is overegged, he says. | Ryan also rejects the idea that the Australian Senate is a states house, in the way the US Senate is a states house. This idea is overegged, he says. |
| “When people say the Senate is a states house, I think we have to be careful to qualify that that by saying it represents the people grouped together as states”. | “When people say the Senate is a states house, I think we have to be careful to qualify that that by saying it represents the people grouped together as states”. |
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