The good, the bad and the ugly were on display in Parliament this week.
The catastrophic firestorm in Victoria brought out the best in our politicians. Some MPs were overcome with emotion as they sent condolences to victims of the bushfires. A spirit of bipartisanship was also on show when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull.
''None of us in this place is the repository of all wisdom,'' Rudd said.
''Therefore it will be important to harness the ideas and the initiative of the entire community and all members of this place, be they Government or Opposition. Certainly in my discussion ... with the Leader of the Opposition I extended to him a heartfelt invitation that if there are any ideas or proposals in dealing with these natural disasters of an immediate term nature or of a longer term nature then of course they should be made directly to the Government.''
Question Time was cancelled for the week. It has reportedly only happened once before during World War II when countries last experienced such tough economic times. The International Monetary Fund has warned the global economy is headed for the worst recession since World War II. The Rudd Government's efforts to deal with the crisis have brought out the bad and the ugly. The Government proposed a $42 billion mini-budget to help insulate the economy from the worst of the global financial crisis. In its unadulterated state, the Nation Building and Jobs plan contained $26.6 billion for infrastructure, $2.7 billion for business tax breaks and $12.7 billion for one-off payments for millions of people. The Opposition has been consistent in its stance, vowing to vote against the mini-budget in the Senate. The Government has been forced to negotiate with the crossbenchers Greens, Family First Senator Steve Fielding and Independent Nick Xenophon to pass the Bills. Some key issues have emerged in the snap parliamentary inquiries and subsequent senate debate on the package. The crossbenchers had concerns about the contents of the mini-budget and demanded a clear verdict on whether the package would work. But they have received conflicting evidence from economists who are called upon to be both scientist and fortune teller. Treasury secretary Dr Ken Henry has stressed the importance of the package to stave off recession and stop unemployment from soaring. The Government's top economic adviser defended the contents of the mini-budget but failed to convince some senators.
The courting began and the crossbenchers played hard to get. Xenophon rightly pointed out that both major parties had poorly handled the situation.
''When preparing for the biggest peacetime stimulus package in our nation's history, I believe it is incumbent upon the Government to work in a non-partisan way, not to dictate a solution,'' Xenophon said.
''This Government's inflexibility and artificial deadlines have forced this national crisis to become unnecessarily political. At a time when the nation actually needed the two major parties to be seeking unity and answers, the Opposition's approach may have set the headlines, but it also set up a stalemate.''
Xenophon dug in, demanding that the Government fast track funding to help the ailing Murray-Darling Basin in exchange for his support for the mini-budget.
''The Government has said no, so I must say no to this stimulus plan. I didn't come to Canberra to make friends. I came here to make a difference. I won't walk away from the people of the Murray-Darling Basin,'' Xenophon said.
It is little wonder that Fielding had ''trouble sleeping at night'' as he weighed up the pros and cons of the package. How can a man who heads the Family First Party vote against cash handouts for families and funds for school facilities?
He wanted almost 10 per cent of the mini-budget spent on a ''Get Communities Work'' scheme to create jobs. But he was vague at least in public statements about how the scheme would work and which component of the package would be sacrificed to fund his plan.
Fielding was politically cornered and lashed out at the Government.
''Frankly, the response I am getting is like chess pieces being moved on a chessboard. It is insulting to everybody. You can tap-dance around it all you like, but I will go in to bat for them every day,'' Fielding said. ''With this package you are displaying the same sheer arrogance that brought the previous government down. You walk into this place and you say, 'We're not changing any of it.' It is disgusting. Are you the only people with good ideas?''
In contrast to Fielding, the Greens have displayed shrewdness in the debate. The party emerged as the third political force after the last federal election, but questions were raised about whether the party forged out of the environmental protest movement would be willing to compromise. It has proved willing to enter the negotiation tent and proved capable of holding its own. Greens leader Bob Brown promised to be creative rather than obstructionist in dealing with the stimulus package.
''We're not going to take a sledge hammer to it. We're not going to stand in the way of the nation getting an economic stimulus, but it doesn't mean we have to accept everything that's in the package,'' Brown said.
The Greens went on to strike a deal to divert about $400 million earmarked for cash handouts for ''job creation and nation-building infrastructure'' projects. But their support was not enough, with Xenophon joining with the Coalition to block the mini-budget. The Government will try again today to pass the Bills and voters will want to see the good rather than the bad and the ugly prevail.
Danielle Cronin is Political Correspondent.