27th Jun 2018, 4:05 PM – Senate Motions - President of the United States of America - Do not invite

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Richard Di Natale (Vic), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the US President has expressed interest in visiting Australia in November,

(ii) some have called upon the Government and Presiding Officers to extend an invitation to President Trump to address a joint meeting of the Australian Parliament, and

(iii) the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Rt Hon John Bercow MP, commented in relation to Mr Trump's postponed visit to the UK that "an address to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right, it is an earned honour… my view is that he has not earned that honour";

(b) believes that an invitation to President Trump to visit Australia, and to address a joint meeting of Parliament, would represent the normalisation of racism, bigotry and misogyny; and

(c) calls on the Government to rule out:

(i) extending an official invitation to President Trump to visit Australia, and

(ii) conferring him the honour of an address to a joint meeting of Parliament.