Wing Commander’s stint in Parliament

Wing Commander Lynton Dixon walks the corridors of power with Senator Nigel Scullion.

By CPL Jon Garland
SENATOR for the Northern Territory Nigel Scullion got a new wingman for a few days when Wing Commander Lynton Dixon joined his office as part of the ADF Parliamentary Program.

WGCDR Dixon, of Air Force HQ, spent three days experiencing life “on the hill”, working with Senator Scullion’s staff from May 13-15.

“They had a program set up for me which was a mixture of meeting with MPs, learning how Parliament House operates and attending one or two committee meetings,” he said.

“It happened to be Budget week, too, which made it that much more interesting.

“I saw how legislation gets formed and the process it goes through before going to the floor for voting.

“The life of a parliamentarian is a hard one – they work extremely long hours, as do their staff, and the breadth of subject matter they have to be across is enormous.

“The benefit for me is that part of my job involves interfacing with parliament on occasion, so all in all it was a fun three days and I enjoyed it greatly.

“Devotion to duty and service to the country – they do theirs in governing and we in defence of the nation but we both serve the public of Australia.”

Senator Scullion spent a week at RAAF Base Williamtown earlier this year as part of the ADF Parliamentary Program.

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