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

I move:

That the honourable member for Cunningham do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

The member for Cunningham has been a member of the Speaker's panel since 18 February 2008. I would put it to her that she is eminently worthy to fulfil the role of Speaker of this parliament. I would put it to her, as I did to the member for Braddon, that surely she believes she has the capacity to be the Speaker of this minority parliament. Surely her colleagues would share the confidence the opposition does that the member for Cunningham can fulfil the role of Speaker in this parliament.

Again I state for the record that the No. 1 qualification of the member for Cunningham to fulfil the role of Speaker of this parliament is that she is a member of the government. If the government truly believe in this parliament and in the Westminster traditions upon which it is based, they would not be trashing the Constitution, trashing the standing orders or trashing the conventions of this parliament for 110 years, and not nominating a member of their own side to take the role of Speaker of this parliament. So, I put it to the member for Cunningham: take the role of Speaker of the parliament and do the job that we know you are capable of doing and that you should have the confidence that you are capable of doing.

The Clerk: Is the motion seconded?

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