Senate Lecture Series by the Hon. Scott Ryan - Annual Harry Evans Lecture: The Senate in times of national crisis · Polyfact

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Senate Lecture Series by the Hon. Scott Ryan - Annual Harry Evans Lecture: The Senate in times of national crisis

7 November 2025

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Contents updated on 22 Oct 2026

Formal opening of the Harry Evans Lecture, institutional acknowledgements and explanation of the format, followed by Scott Ryan’s introduction and positioning of Harry Evans’ legacy and Senate independence as the lens for examining the Senate in crises.

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Opening of Harry Evans Lecture and speaker framing

10:18

Opening and introduction of Scott Ryan

10:18

Harry Evans’ legacy and Senate independence

12:39

Defining national crisis and wartime executive dominance

16:53

Defining ‘national crisis’ and wartime precedents

16:53

Executive dominance and erosion of parliamentary oversight

20:00

COVID-19 as constitutional stress test for the Senate

21:34

COVID-19, remote participation and creation of the COVID committee

21:34

Defense of in‑person voting and Senate scrutiny role

24:44

State border controls, officials and MPs’ right to sit

27:47

Senate reform, committee oversight and security legislation controls

32:09

Post‑war reforms and rise of a more plural Senate

32:09

PJCIS model and proposed Defense committee — Senate concerns

35:36

Limits of executive‑appointed committees and war powers debates

39:55

Sunset clauses, ASIO powers and protecting Senate autonomy

41:05

Conclusion — Harry Evans and the Senate as constructive ‘troublemaker’

44:50

Q&A on officials, 1975 crisis, remote voting and closing

46:19

Q1 — Rubenstein: health officials, executive and parliamentary limits

46:19

Comment — Lang: broader research agenda on crisis parliaments

51:10

Q2 — audience challenge on 1975 dismissal as crisis

52:26

Q3 — McKenzie: future of remote voting and committee hybridity

54:15

Closing thanks and promotion of future Senate lectures

57:33

Senate Lecture Series by the Hon. Scott Ryan - Annual Harry Evans Lecture: The Senate in times of national crisis

7 November 2025

Special Events Fri, 7 Nov 2025 Australian Parliament

10:18 - 11:48

Speaker 11

Good afternoon, and welcome to the theatre at Parliament House Canberra. We meet here today where people have met for thousands of years, and I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Nambri peoples who are the traditional custodians of the Canberra region. Pay my respects to the elders past and present of all Australia's indigenous people. I extend that respect to any indigenous people in our audience today or watching online. Today marks the ninth annual lecture in honor of the late Harry Evans, the longest serving clerk of the senate.

For those that don't know me, my name is Richard Pye. I'm the current clerk of the senate. For for those who do know me, I'm still Richard Pye, the... I'm dedicated to that joke. I'm gonna keep doing it until I get a laugh.

Maybe next year. Maybe next year. I would like to send a very warm welcome to members of the Evans family who are here with us for this occasion. I also acknowledge and welcome some current senators, and my predecessor as senate clerk, doctor Rosemary Lang. The clerk of the legislative assembly of the ACT has also joined us today.

Hello, Tom. Time permitting, this lecture... Time permitting, Scott. This lecture will be followed by a short q and a session. It's my pleasure to introduce, anyway, and welcome back to Parliament House, this year's presenter, the honorable Scott Ryan, former president of the senate.

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