Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I thank both the Manager of Opposition Business and the Leader of the House. The point the Manager of Opposition Business makes is that in his view—to be fair there are speakers on both sides, so it includes the Leader of the Opposition in that—we have strayed from a technical reading of the motion. That is his point. You can have that argument. As you know, I tend to try to be practical about these things, because I have sat in this House for a long period of time and seen the consequences when we it becomes highly technical.

The substantive point of the Manager of Opposition Business was that because the speakers so far in the debate have had a consistency that he pointed out that, therefore, means that future speakers will adopt exactly the same attitude. That is a very unfair thing to say of future speakers in the debate. I am not at the point yet where I feel that from my original ruling—we have had four speakers on one side and two on the opposition side. If the opposition side does not wish to speak that is their perfect right, but I am going to hear further speakers. Of course, it has been open right through the debate for the Manager of Opposition Business, if he has felt aggrieved by that, to have raised points of order and I would have considered those points of order. Indeed, he could have even raised a point of order on the Leader of the Opposition.

What I am saying is that I have heard him. I am going to hear some further speakers. I respect the fact that he has withdrawn his motion. The minister's time had concluded and I will now call the member for McMahon from the opposition.

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