21 August, 2015. 15:07
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST OPENLY libertarian politician smoked a cigarette in parliament today, stating that he should be able to do so.
Senator David Leyonhjelm says the laws that prohibit smoking in public buildings are just another example of how frivolous government legislation is keeping the people in shackles.
“There shouldn’t be a law that says I can’t enjoy a Peter Stuyvesant whenever I want,” said the former agribusinessmen.
“In fact, I should be able to sit wherever I want in the Senate. We should scrap the seating plan, this isn’t year nine geography,”
“It’s a personal decision and freedom to smoke, so why should we try to govern that?”
Smoking was banned inside Parliament House in 1994 after then finance minister Kim Beazley was caught putting out a cigarette on the carpet for the third time.
However, this is not the first measure Senator Leyonhjelm has fought against in Parliament House.
Earlier this year, he tried to introduce a plan to sell the naming rights to the iconic Canberra building to a brewery, which would’ve seen Parliament House renamed.
The proposed names included The China Air Southern Parliament Complex™ and Bunnings™ Law House but the plan was quickly shot down by his colleagues.
“That’s more evidence to prove that the government is interfering too much in its own affairs,” said Leyonhjelm.
“No matter what the government tries to do, my dream of an open-based society founded upon economic and personal freedoms will never be extinguished.”
AAP
