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

Madam Speaker, I have great pleasure in nominating the member for Maranoa. I have nominated the member for Maranoa on numerous occasions for the position of Deputy Speaker and I hope on this occasion that he might be successful. Without detracting from the member for Hindmarsh, who has been here for eight years, I note the member for Maranoa has in fact been here since 1990. He has served the parliament with great distinction. He served the parliament as a minister for six years in the Howard government—as Minister for Veterans' Affairs and as Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence. He has also served as a chairman of significant committees in this place over a long time and as the Second Deputy Speaker for this parliament and the previous parliament. In fact, there is no better-qualified member of parliament to serve as Deputy Speaker than the member for Maranoa.

I am absolutely delighted that he has been re-preselected to serve as the member for Maranoa in, hopefully, the 44th Parliament, should he be elected. I think they weigh the vote in Maranoa as opposed to counting it, so I assume he will be elected and be back here! It gives me great pleasure to move, particularly after the tumult of the last two years:

That the honourable member for Maranoa be elected Deputy Speaker.

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