Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the member for Maranoa, Bruce Scott, be elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It gives me great pleasure to place the name of my friend and colleague the member for Maranoa in nomination for the coalition for Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 43rd Parliament. While the coalition recognises the fine service that the member for Fisher has given to the parliament since his election, we support the member for Maranoa in this nomination as Deputy Speaker of the 43rd Parliament.

The member for Maranoa joined the parliament in 1990, has served over those 20 years as a shadow minister, as a Minister for Veterans’ Affairs—indeed, he was a very accomplished and very successful Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, much loved by the veteran community—and has achieved many notable acts on their behalf during the period of the Howard government. He has served over those 20 years as Chairman of Committees and as Deputy Chairman of Committees. He has also been a member of the Speaker’s panel for many of the years of the last decade and, of course, was the Second Deputy Speaker in the 42nd Parliament.

He represents a very wide and diverse electorate in south-western Queensland where he has served those constituents very well over those 20 years. He is a fine advocate of rural and regional issues in both the National Party and in the coalition. He is a member of the coalition and supports it very strongly. He strongly supported the merger in Queensland so that the conservatives and Liberals in Queensland could speak with one voice at the state and federal levels. If he were to be elected Deputy Speaker, he would certainly improve the parliament under the new arrangements—as he would have under the old arrangements. He is a diligent supporter of parliamentary reform. He cares about the parliament. He understands the parliament. He has the character and integrity necessary to be an independent member in the Speaker’s chair. I would strongly recommend that the member for Maranoa be elected Deputy Speaker today.

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