Harry Jenkins (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not sure whether I have to put that in inverted commas, because we are a bit worried about calling people names. I remember, because I had an interest during this 17-day period, and when there was a lovely scene out in one of the courtyards—the great love-in of parliamentary procedure—one of the agreements was the pairing of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. I wonder what position I would have in this place if that had been carried through, but I digress a little and it is not about me.

There was the intention that we recognise in this minority period that again the two positions of Deputy Speaker be shared, and that is all that is happening here. Finally, now the member for Sturt is quiet, reluctant as I am to give tactical advice to those opposite, I simply say that if he had thought a bit about what was actually happening in the parliament last night and not been worried so much about the politics then he might have seen this happening; he might have seen this coming. If he did not see it, that is bad luck. If this motion moved by the Leader of the House gets up we will achieve the appropriate action that was decided not only in the way that the Second Deputy Speaker position was created but most importantly in this period of minority government in the way in which we could best have this parliament and this House operate.

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