Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

It is, and it is with the clerks. Everything that was said yesterday about what the standards of this House are going to be becomes absolutely meaningless if the ruling you gave is followed through on. We had a clear example of a member of parliament being given a name other than his title in this House. That is exactly what we had. It was pointed out to you and we asked for it to be withdrawn in the appropriate process, according to the standing orders of this parliament. If we cannot even get over the threshold of calling people by their titles then every word we were told yesterday becomes meaningless. Every word we were told about what the standards of this government would be, in dealings with this House, means absolutely nothing if members of the government cannot even resist the cute name-calling—if they cannot even get to stage 1 of referring to people by their appropriate titles.

In the previous parliament we had a Speaker who preferred to be called by the title 'Speaker' rather than 'Madam Speaker'. We respected that. You made clear yesterday your preference to be called 'Madam Speaker' and we respect that, but for there to be no respect for members of this House—for cheap school-yard name-calling to be the order of the day in this House—takes us to a new low. Where is the idea of the adults being in charge of the government if it is going to be a case of teasing, name-calling and cute games? That is the standard that the Leader of the House—no less—has immediately taken us to.

You, Madam Speaker, yesterday assured us and the Australian people that this would not happen. You gave a guarantee that this would not happen. We simply want you to honour not merely promises made during an election but promises made yesterday. It should not be too much for members of this House to expect that stage 1—no name-calling; calling people by their appropriate titles—is honoured.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister used a similar phrase to the one now used by the Leader of the House. The media picked him up on it straight away and he acknowledged one thing: that he would not get away with using that phrase in this chamber.

Madam Speaker, they should not get away with using those phrases in this chamber. They should not get away with being able to completely denigrate principle 101, the very beginning of the principles of the standing orders, that there will be a level of courtesy. I liked some of the interviews you gave yesterday, Madam Speaker, I just cannot reconcile them with the ruling you just gave. It is no surprise at all, when we look now, that yesterday you were brought forward by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House. It is no surprise that for the first time in defiance of Westminster tradition we have a Speaker who was physically brought here by the executive.

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