AS THE state government's lone representative in the Legislative Council, Labor's Craig Farrell is taking an unconventional approach to try to share the workload.
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Mr Farrell, the only Labor MLC in the 15-member upper house, took over as Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in May.
At the same time, the $40,000 deputy position was scrapped.
Mr Farrell said managing the workload had been challenging, particularly during the final weeks of Parliament sitting when the chamber debated the state budget.
``That was pretty steep going,'' Mr Farrell said. ``There was a couple of times towards the end of the last session when I thought it would be just nice to have someone else to take this bill through.''
Without a deputy to step in, Mr Farrell can't even leave the chamber for a toilet break without suspending the sitting.
Apart from moderating his water intake, Mr Farrell said he was hoping other independent MLCs would take responsibility for individual bills on a one-off basis.
``There may be bills coming up that have a certain interest for certain members,'' he said.
So far, no independent MLCs have taken up his offer.
The plan has the support of Premier Lara Giddings and President of the Legislative Council Sue Smith.
Mr Farrell said he had no plans at this stage to ask Ms to reinstate a permanent deputy, but he said they were continually talking about managing the workload.
Parliament resumes next week after the six-week winter recess.