Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

We now turn to a more serious matter—not that that was not serious, but that was serious and there is happiness for Joanne. This is a different sort of serious matter.

Yesterday the Manager of Opposition Business raised as a matter of privilege statements reported to have been made by the member for Bowman after he had apologised to the House for his actions in the Federation Chamber on 24 March and had been named and suspended from the House. I have seen the statement issued by the member for Bowman, to the effect that, 'If Australian families have to breathe it, I don't back down from bringing it to the parliament to make a point.'

Any act which obstructs or impedes the House in the performance of its functions may be treated as a contempt, as long as it meets the test of being an improper interference with the work of the House. In this case, the actions of the member for Bowman were, quite properly, dealt with by way of the House as a matter of order. I accept the member for Bowman's apology to the House for his actions and expect him to honour that apology. Any attempt by the member to pursue the matter in a similar way in the future would also be dealt with as a matter of order.

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