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

37 government and 693 opposition, with Graham Perrett on 49. If you'd punted him today, he would have made his 50! I will say that you haven't been afraid to throw out ministers—the minister for communications twice; the minister for government services and the Assistant Treasurer each kicked out once; and former minister Michael Keenan was kicked out and then eventually decided to not come back. You punted me once, and you were right to. It was after I took a point of order on the Deputy Prime Minister, not for the purposes of raising anything procedurally but because I thought he needed to take a breath. And it was fair to kick me out for that.

There have been a series of changes during COVID where, be in no doubt, had someone else been in the chair, we might not have been able to bring the sides together. Had someone else been in the chair, the parliament might not have been able to sit. That is a fundamental change to what democracy would have been over the last two years. At different points, where one party or the other was being difficult, you did bring us together. As a result, the democracy has been the better for it.

I do want to acknowledge just a couple of other moments. First of all, when the medevac legislation came before the House, you were put in a very difficult position. You were given legal advice and decided to table it not at the moment the debate occurred but at the beginning of the MPI and then to allow the House to make its decisions as to how it would handle that. I know you didn't do that for the purposes of the legislation—it did make a fundamental difference to people's lives that you did that—but the purpose for which you did it was the purpose that the Speaker is meant to be accountable for; you did it to allow the House to make its own decision, and it did. Similarly, you were in the chair for three glorious hours on 1 September 2016 during a magnificent moment of democracy where we debated whether or not there should be a banking royal commission when the opposition temporarily had the numbers on the floor, a moment we cherish and reflect back on as often as we can. Similarly, when the surprise happened, the moment Mr Llew O'Brien left the room—I nominated him—it put you in a situation of setting some new precedents, and you did so fairly.

We're terribly grateful to your staff. We've relied on your staff and worked with your staff closely over the years. Very few members would be aware as to how many decisions are made about members' welfare and protecting people in different ways and protecting staff in different ways. Your office has been a huge part of that. The last time I can remember someone voluntarily choosing to leave six months prior to the end of a term was Bob Halverson. The position for the remaining six months went to the National Party as a reflection on the coalition government of the importance of the National Party on that occasion. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

I will say, Mr Speaker, the respect that you have around the House is rare, and it is earned. If, on your way to Government House tomorrow, you discover that the COMCARs can't get through and there is a blockade, it'll be 150 of us.

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