Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I'll make a couple of points to the Leader of the Opposition. What the ministerial arrangements are obviously have nothing to do with me. That's a matter for the government. In terms of those participating remotely as a result of the agreement, all members have the option to participate remotely if they're unable to be here. I won't go through all the aspects of the agreement, and I don't know all of the circumstances. The requirement is that they're trained—they're trained in their electorate offices—and they participate from their electorate offices, for the reasons I've outlined at great length before: for the best possible connection. They participate in a way that's as similar to parliament as it is, with parliamentary attire and a parliamentary backdrop. But it's not compulsory. That's really all I can say on the matter. But, while I'm at it, I will commend the member for McMahon for having the best backdrop that I've seen. And I think if everyone models themselves on him, that would be good.

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