Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In this place the convention is this: if a member of parliament has been offended by remarks made by somebody on the other side, the Speaker can require a withdrawal, if it happens to be unparliamentary. But the convention is that, if the person finds it offensive then the courtesies of this place mean that it is withdrawn. I have done it many times myself. That is the first point.

The second point to that point of order is this: the Minister for Foreign Affairs said a great deal more about the member for Sydney than simply characterising her attitude. He went on to describe the member for Sydney—I am sure, if you check the record—as having a particular attitude towards war and encouraging it. Quite frankly, they were utterly offensive remarks. The member for Sydney took objection—

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