New Magisterium, New Debates, New Votes
By Llorenian Isles, 18 July 2019
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Two new Magisters were admitted to the legislature on 17 July, Escade and Llorenian Isles. Escade previously served as a Magister in the 41st Magisterium and left “due to feeling a bit overwhelmed”, but has returned as they feel can they contribute to new, fast-paced discussions. They were admitted with a 6-0 vote in favour, while three members did not vote in time. Llorenian Isles previously applied to join the Magisterium after only one month in the region in March 2019, an effort which fell apart with an incomplete and confusing vote as the new Provost election began, but has been successful in his second attempt, receiving an 8-0 vote in favour and only one member not voting in time.
As the legislative body now increases to 11 members, the 42nd Magisterium has coincidentally just begun. Provost nominations opened a few hours ago, with incumbent Davelands being the only person to have accepted their seconded nomination yet. Magisters Aleister, Bachtendekuppen, East Malaysia, and Todd McCloud have also been nominated, but have yet to confirm whether they will be running.
While the membership and leadership of the Magisterium are changing, a number of other areas of discussion have continued, sparking fierce debate and controversial opinions.
After being unanimously approved by the Magisterium, an amendment to citizenship provisions in Article E of the Concordat has gone to a referendum of all citizens and requires a three-quarter vote in favour to be enacted. As of the time of writing, there are 23 votes in favour and only 4 against, which would pass it at a convincing 85%. However, the vote has approximately five days remaining and would require only an additional four votes against from here in order to swing the outcome. A Slanted Black Stripe, one of the opponents of the proposal, stated:
Essentially, we have given the Magisterium, by majority vote, with no requirement for approval by the Delegate, the power to amend the citizenship requirements in the Concordat. It doesn’t require any kind of super majority, as all other amendments require, and no confirmation by the citizens themselves. If this amendment is passed, on a day when half the Magisterium is bored, they could vote to require all citizens to have a picture of a marsupial on their flag.
On other matters, deliberation and voting on the Standing Orders of the Magisterium are nearing completion after months of consideration. Section I, which concerns the requirements to apply to be a Magister, was fiercely divisive and resulted in a generally more relaxed set of rules to be accepted, including classifying the completion of a University course and contribution to an Executive ministry as “recommended”. That vote will conclude in the next day, and currently has 7 votes in favour and none against, easily passing.
Section II, regarding the legislative procedure, was faster than the previous Section, being discussed for just four days before being put up for a vote on 15 July. After being proposed by Provost Davelands, the only matter of contention was a clause giving the Provost and Deputy Provost more power over motioning proposals to vote. After many contributors, including Magisters Marrabuk and Libertanny voiced their disapproval of that addition, it was dropped and that part reverted to its original. The vote currently stands at 4 in favour and 1 abstention from Tim Stark, and so looks likely to pass.
A new thread on Section III, the final part of the Standing Orders, has recently begun. It remains to be seen whether it too will attract controversy, but it has already received the general support of Magisters Libertanny and Llorenian Isles.
A myriad of other controversial topics are also on the table at the moment, namely elected Ministers, resident rights, and a new Executive Sovereignty Act.
The ‘Electing Ministers’ thread has garnered a massive 74 replies, making it tied sixth for the most active thread in the history of the Magisterium forum section, and looking likely to pass into the top five by its completion. The tense debate, which has nearly gone on for a month since Delegate Fedele first began it on June 22, has mainly boiled down to two main areas: 1) should any Ministers should be elected at all? and; 2) who should they be and what should their legislated responsibilities be also? It appears unlikely that this conversation will conclude any time soon.
The idea of resident rights, introduced by Zukchiva on 10 July, has also sparked marked disagreement. Recently, Provost Davelands effectively clarified the discussion by breaking down the ideas presented into two parts - Zukchiva’s ‘Basic Rights of Residents’ and East Malaysia’s ‘Protections of Residents’. East Malaysia has since posted a proposal for an amendment to Articles G, H, and I of the Concordat to cover these two areas. While there still appears to be strong opponents to the move, this matter appears likely to be finalised soon.
In yet another area of discussion in the very active Magisterium, Magister Libertanny proposed on 16 July a new Executive Sovereignty Act “to boost [the] loyalty of Executive Staffers and security within this part of the Government”. If passed, the Act would require all Executive staffers, including Ministers and their deputies, to not participate in foreign intelligence agencies nor foreign military organisations. It would also place additional restrictions on those leadership positions, requiring WA membership in the region unless serving in the East Pacific Sovereign Army (EPSA), and prohibiting simultaneous service as a Minister, Deputy Minister, second-in-command, or any equivalent in “any foreign Government”. Delegate Fedele has voiced opposition to the proposal, saying that it “restricts our talent pool a little too much and limits my ability as Delegate to select the best person for the job in various ministries”, a sentiment that has been supported by Magisters Llorenian Isles, Escade, and Brotherland. Talks on this will likely continue for a number of days yet before a finalised proposal is put to vote.