Heather Robinson, Contributor

On Tuesday afternoon, I made my way to Gordon House. When I got there, the sitting had started and the new Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, was presenting a ministry paper on the rehabilitation of Jamaica after Hurricane Dean.

In the past, whenever I attended sittings of Parliament, I would sit in the gallery facing the Government members.

On Tuesday, I decided against that and sat, instead, facing the Opposition. It felt strange. Now, I am only a former parliamentarian feeling strange in my new 'seat'. Can you therefore imagine how strange members from both sides of the House must have been feeling on Tuesday afternoon, as each sat in their new seats.

New re-upholstered seats

Speaking about seats, from my vantage point in the gallery, I noticed that about seven of the seats had been reupholstered in bright green. The Leader of Government Business, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance now occupy three of these new seats, and across the floor their counterparts as well. The Leader of the Opposition is seated between Drs. Peter Phillips and Omar Davies, and immediately behind her is new member Lisa Hanna.

It was interesting to watch how attentive members were, and how each realised the importance of keeping their seats. There wasn't the usual walking in and out of the chamber. Instead, members secured their seats and literally gave their undivided attention to what was being discussed. Opposition members used their prior knowledge to ask questions of ministers after the tabling of the ministry papers, and new members sought to get answers to questions that concerned their constituents.

Government members have a short time in which they are expected to become familiar with their various portfolios, while their counterparts on the opposition benches are ahead of the game having spent many years in government. It is only time that will tell whether this is an advantage that will benefit the opposition.

On the other hand, exhibitions of arrogance by government members, who clearly cannot claim to know everything after two weeks, will not help. The learning curve here is a steep one. Neither is it acceptable for a new minister to answer a question from a senior parliamentarian by saying "you should know the answer".

Paying attention

Opposition members are going to have to get accustomed to doing their own research, while being able to solicit any voluntary assistance that is available. Paying attention to what is said, and what is being promised will go a far way in shortening their time on the opposition benches. There is also, now, more time to spend in the constituency and this time should be used to solidify and increase their support and margins.

Constituencies that have government Members of Parliament need special attention from the People's National Party. Losing candidates need to decide if they are staying, and if not new leadership needs to be put in place. Candidates who are put in place too close to an election are at a distinct disadvantage.

Now is the time to put candidates in place who are interested in the long run. MPs who are ministers have less time to spend in constituencies, and this will provide excellent opportunities for opposition members to develop strong political bases.

During this parliamentary term, it will be interesting to see whether parliamentarians will conduct themselves with more decorum, and if there will be any problems with a quorum. It will, however, take some time for us to get accustomed to hearing Audley Shaw being called the Minister of Finance, and Derrick Smith the Minister of National Security. And there are some, even in the electronic media, who have to correct themselves when they refer to the Prime Minister.

Interesting times are indeed ahead of us.

Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.