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

I hesitate to rise before the Leader of the House but I see he is otherwise detained at the crossbenches. I do congratulate you, Madam Speaker, on your unanimous election by the House tonight to the position of Speaker. This has been an extraordinary day in Australian politics—another chaotic and extraordinary day in the 43rd Parliament. I congratulate you on becoming the new Speaker of the House and, as you point out, on becoming the second woman to fill that role. I congratulate you on rising to this very high office. In doing so, I pay tribute to the member for Fisher, the previous Speaker, who showed the good judgement tonight to resign—judgement the Prime Minister failed to show today in the House. I will leave it at that, Madam Speaker, because I do not want to cast a pall over your election. But the fact remains that the member for Fisher showed the judgement tonight to resign, judgement which the Prime Minister, yet again, did not show today in this House.

Your election, Madam Speaker, is the culmination of my own nomination of you 11 months ago. The tumult which has gripped the House for the last 11 months—particularly the last six months—could all have been avoided if the Labor Party had accepted my nomination of you as Speaker 11 months ago. It is 11 months late but not too late, Madam Speaker, for you to make an indelible imprint on the parliament.

This is another unprecedented day—to have had three Speakers over the course of the 43rd Parliament. That is something I promise the clerks we will not have in the 44th Parliament. I am sure the Australian public will look forward to the 44th Parliament, whoever wins the coming election—whether it is the Labor Party or the coalition. I am absolutely certain the Australian public will never again invest in a hung parliament, given the chaos and scandal which has beset this parliament. I hope, Madam Speaker, that, in your tenure as Speaker, you will be able to restore some integrity to the parliament. As Manager of Opposition Business, I look forward to the opportunity of working closely with you to help restore that integrity.

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