Tasmania punches above its weight in Senate

Labor Senator Anne Urquhart will stand as chief government whip with colleagues Liberal Senator Wendy Askew as the chief opposition whip and Greens Senator Nick McKim as Australian Greens whip across the partisan divide.

As part of the 47th Parliament of Australia, three Tasmanian Senators hold the respective roles of chief whip for their parties, a feat that means Tasmania is punching above its weight in taking responsibility for how the Senate functions.

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Ms Urquhart from the Australian Labor Party was previously chief opposition whip in the Senate. Following the 2022 election she became the chief government whip.

"My role as the government whip is integral to the process of introducing legislation to the Senate for debate, which allows meaningful reform for Australians," Ms Urquhart said.

"Moving from chief opposition whip to chief government whip has been an exciting time," she said.

"I have a fantastic staff team who all ensure those wheels of democracy continue to turn when they should."

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Each parliamentary party has a chief whip and up to two deputy whips to help manage the roles and responsibilities

Ms Askew was elected unopposed to the role of chief opposition whip in July 2022 and explains whips are often described as the "team manager".

"Whips have a range of responsibilities that directly feed into the way the Senate functions on a day-to-day basis in Parliament," she said.

"As the chief opposition whip, I have a role in creating speakers lists so elected members can speak on legislation, along with tasks related to the day-to-day function of the Senate, which is an incredibly important part of the democratic process that adds to the transparency of the Parliament."

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Senator Nick McKim has been the Australian Greens whip in the Senate since 2021, after holding a number of roles within the Greens since elected in 2015.

"The three of us work together to make sure the wheels of democracy turn smoothly in the Senate," he said.

"We often disagree politically but we put that aside when necessary to ensure that the Senate functions well.

"A lot of politics is adversarial, but we work hard behind the scenes to make those debates productive and effective."

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