SENATOR Bridget McKenzie has welcomed her new role as whip of the Nationals Party for the Senate.
The party whip is a member of parliament who is elected by their party to take on the role of team manager.
See your ad hereEach party has whips who work in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Ms McKenzie said she is looking forward to helping ensure a smooth passage of legislation as part of the Coalition Government.
She said she also looked forward to ensuring the National Party senators continue their strong tradition of supporting legislation that promotes good outcomes for regional Australia.
“The role of the whip is to keep the team organised and focused, and to ensure we are across our brief,” she said.
Ms McKenzie said she was elected as the whip about two weeks ago and said she was thrilled and honored by the announcement.
She said she would embrace the additional responsibilities associated with the position.
“I look forward to fulfilling my duties and responsibilities of the new role from a Nationals Party perspective,” she said.
“It will be an interesting position to have in the new Senate.”
Roles of the whip include meeting with the whips of opposing parties to plan the parliamentary day, setting the agenda and sorting out procedural details.
Other duties involve organising a list of party members who wish to speak on bills and giving this information to the president.
The term whip comes from the sport of fox-hunting in England and the use of the term dates back to the seventeenth century in British Parliament.
The whipper-in was the person who whipped all the hunting hounds into a pack, pointed them in the right direction to chase the fox and ensured that the pack did not stray.
See your ad hereWhips sit among their party and towards the president in the Senate.