Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial says she does not see calls for unity between the parties as a pressing issue, but she maintains that there has been compromise and cooperation, especially on the part of the UNC.
Following the ceremonial opening of Parliament yesterday, in which the President called for both government and opposition to cooperate, Lutchmedial said a greater collaborative effort has to be a two-way street.
She said there had been several times the Opposition supported bills proposed.
“The Opposition is always open to discussion. At the end of the day, that’s a two-way street. We always listen to what is said in relation to a bill and then we take a position based, not just on our personal views, but we also have to take into account the views of the population. So, I don’t know that there hasn’t been compromise,” she said.
“The Opposition has supported a lot of very key and important legislation. Where there is not support, perhaps and the record will show, that a number of times the Opposition will ask and propose amendments we think are in the best interest of a particular board, and we will not even be given some sort of rationale or something that we will accept,” she added.
Lutchmedial said: “I also heard her mention something like a parliamentary agenda and legislative agenda. When I started (with) the party in 2020, I was told that we were getting a published parliamentary agenda so we know what the key pieces of legislation are coming forward … We are now in 2023, and we’re coming to the fourth year, and I have never seen a published legislative agenda. We’ve changed Attorney General but that is the one thing that hasn’t changed. So those sort of things would actually facilitate more discussion.