Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I second the motion and the nomination of the member for Maranoa as Deputy Speaker in this parliament. The member for Maranoa is a man of integrity and a person respected by both sides of this chamber. For many decades the member for Maranoa has been a champion for the interests of regional Australia. That commitment extends from prior to 1990 when he was first elected to this House. Before entering the House, Mr Scott was heavily involved in the farming community, holding executive roles in a number of organisations, including merino breeder organisations, and he became an Australian Nuffield Farming Scholar.

Since his election to this House, the member for Maranoa has served his constituency and indeed the parliament with distinction. He has served both as a minister and as a shadow minister. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, for which he is to this day remembered fondly by the veteran community. Indeed, he is a life member of the Returned and Services League of Australia and also the Royal Australian Air Force Association. Many of the additional entitlements which veterans enjoy today can be attributed to Mr Scott’s empathy with the plight of veterans and their families and his response as a minister to their challenging circumstances.

From 2001 until November 2007, the member for Maranoa was the chairman of the Defence Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. In 2002, he visited the Australian defence forces serving under Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Dubai as chairman of the Defence Subcommittee. In 2005, Mr Scott visited the troops in Iraq and, in the same year, he also led a parliamentary delegation to Taipei and the USA. In 2002, Mr Scott spent three months in New York City as a parliamentary adviser to the United Nations General Assembly. He also led a mission to the APEC parliamentary forum in Mexico.

Between 2002 and 2007 Mr Scott served as Acting Deputy Speaker. In February 2008, he was elected Second Deputy Speaker of this House for the 42nd Australian Parliament. This experience and the obvious qualities which the member for Maranoa brings to this House make him a natural fit for the role of Deputy Speaker in the new parliament.

It is with great pleasure that I second this nomination.

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