Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly do not intend to detain the House for long on this particular business. But I do say in response to the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition that there were two false premises on which his remarks were based. The first false premise is that there has been a lack of even-handedness in the way this House has been conducted. The second false premise is that an improper motion was carried by this House last Thursday.

Let me deal first with the accusation of the Leader of the Opposition that there has been a lack of even-handedness. Mr Speaker, as you have made it clear repeatedly today, and most recently in your formal statement from the chair, the member for Lalor was named by you not for any particular phraseology that she used and not for any particular motion that she put to the House but because she defied the chair. As you quite rightly said, defiance of the chair must be dealt with. It always has been and it always will be. Mr Speaker, you have dealt with defiance of the chair even-handedly whenever it has occurred, whether it be by members of the opposition or whether it be by members of the government. So let me make it absolutely crystal clear: the member for Lalor was named because she defied the chair. No such defiance of the chair took place last Thursday.

The second point I wish to make is that there was no improper motion carried by the House the other day. On no fewer than three separate occasions the Deputy Speaker stated the question before the House in these terms: ‘That the member be no longer heard.’ That was the question that was put to the House and that was the question that was voted upon.

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