Editing Hal Colebatch (section)

===Australian Senate===
Colebatch was elected as a [[List of senators from Western Australia|senator for Western Australia]] at the [[1928 Australian federal election|1928 federal election]], taking his seat on 1 July 1929.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=129}} He had accepted the nomination from the Nationalist Party on the condition that he would not attend party meetings and that he would not be bound by how the party wanted to vote, believing that the party system undermined the Senate's intended role as the state's house. These conditions were unusual, and likely prevented him from becoming a minister.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=128}} Elected alongside Colebatch as a senator for Western Australia were [[Bertie Johnston]], a former Labor politician turned Country Party member, and incumbent Nationalist senator [[Walter Kingsmill]].{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=128}} Colebatch was the first of the three elected, declaring that his election was an endorsement of his belief that the Senate should be a states' house and not a party house.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=129}}

During the [[Great Depression]], Colebatch spoke against [[protectionism]]{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=129}} and criticised the complacency of the Labor government and previous Coalition government which had allowed Australians to live beyond their means by excessive borrowing.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=130}} When the government raised tariffs in 1929 and 1930, he was one of just a few members of parliament to oppose this.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=134}} He argued that protectionism was bad for Western Australia, South Australia and [[Tasmania]], as those states were export-oriented and had little manufacturing industry.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=138}} [[Gold mining in Western Australia|Western Australia's gold industry]] was hit hard by tariffs, which had steadily climbed since federation. The federal government was also [[price fixing]] so that it could buy gold at below market value.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=139}} The industry was agitating for subsidies but Colebatch was ideologically opposed to this, so he instead introduced an amendment to a bill so that the government would have to pay market price for gold. This amendment was supported by the state's other senators, but other than that, only a few senators supported the amendment. Colebatch ended up reluctantly supporting subsidies for gold.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=140}} He opposed subsidies for other materials though, and succeeded in defeating two of them.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=142}} In December 1930, he opposed a bill to convert the railway from Fremantle to Kalgoorlie to [[standard gauge]] which would have made a standard gauge rail link from Sydney to Perth. He was Western Australia's only politician to oppose this, and he did so because he did not want to fund public works with loans without any provision for paying back the loans. He was also one of few people at the time to question why railways were under public ownership.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=142}}

Colebatch criticised the Labor government when it reduced military training in country areas as it cost more than in cities, saying that it was unfair to people living in the country and that the Great Depression could lead to war. He lobbied for the Australian government to contribute to the construction of the [[Singapore Naval Base]].{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=132}}

In 1930, Colebatch was the vice-chairman of a [[Australian Senate committees#Select committees|select committee]] to investigate the [[Australian Senate committees#Standing committees|standing committee]] system, although he acted as the chairman for much of that time as the chairman was overseas. Its recommendations were for the establishment of a Standing Committee on External Affairs and a Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, as well as the amendment of the Senate's standing orders so that bills could be referred to select committees. The Committee of Regulations and Ordinances was established as a result, and became a permanent part of the Senate machinery.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=143}} [[Otto Niemeyer]], a British banker who had worked for [[HM Treasury]] and the [[Bank of England]], visited Australia in 1930 to give the prime minister and premiers advice on the Great Depression. James Mitchell, who by that time had become the premier of Western Australia again, sent Colebatch instead. Colebatch largely agreed with what Niemeyer said,{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=144}} however the Labor Party did not.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=145}}

Sitting next to Colebatch in the Senate was [[James Dunn (Australian politician)|James Patrick Digger Dunn]], a Labor Party senator. Although they had radically different political beliefs and frequently debated within the Senate, they formed a personal friendship. During the [[Australian Labor Party split of 1931]], Dunn joined the breakaway [[Lang Labor]] faction.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=154}} Near the end of 1931, Lang Labor members were planning a vote of no confidence for the removal of the [[Scullin government]], but they needed all Coalition members present in the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] for when the vote was planned to take place. Dunn asked for Colebatch to make sure that all Coalition members were present, who then went to the leader of the Senate opposition, [[George Pearce]], who was uninterested. Colebatch then went to [[William Glasgow (general)|William Glasgow]] and managed to convince him that Dunn was telling the truth. As a result, all Coalition members were present for the vote of no confidence, and they, combined with Lang Labor, were able to force [[1931 Australian federal election|an early election]] in which the Scullin government was defeated.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=155}}

Colebatch was disappointed when the new [[United Australia Party]] government turned out to be almost as protectionist as the previous government.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=156}} In May 1932, he tried to amend the Customs Bill so that the government was obliged to have its tariff schedules approved by parliament within three months. After some debate, he compromised on six months and so the amendment was passed. Colebatch was the only senator to oppose the Ottawa Agreement of 1932, which established the system of [[Imperial Preference]].{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=157}}