Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Wills from moving—That this House calls on the Member for Gwydir to tell the House what conversations he had with each of the Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Downer, Agriculture Minister Truss, former CEO of AWB Andrew Lindberg and former AWB Government Relations Manager Daryl Hockey, prior to the sale of the Member for Gwydir’s AWB shares in October 2005, noting that—

(1)

the Member for Gwydir’s shares were sold just prior to the release of the Volcker Report which was highly critical of AWB;

(2)

the Member for Gwydir failed to declare the sale to the Parliament at the time, and only lodged the required declaration the day before the share sale was reported in The Australian;

(3)

the Member for Gwydir claimed in The Australian on 26 February that the share sale was not the result of inside knowledge of the contents of the Volcker Report, and that he had always intended to sell his shares when the price hit five dollars;

(4)

this claim contradicted his previous public statement that he sold his shares in order to diversify his rural investments, a diversification which in any event has not occurred;

(5)

the $5 trigger price for AWB was in fact reached 18 months earlier, on 10 March 2004, and the share price hit that point on another 30 occasions between 10 March 2004 and 5 October 2005;

(6)

the Member for Gwydir claimed to Mr Glenn Milne, reported on 26 February, and to the ABC Insiders Program, that he had not spoken to anyone about AWB or the Volcker Report prior to the share sale;

Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Wills will resume his seat.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I accept that under normal circumstances people are allowed to read their motion onto the Notice Paper, but this is an abuse of the standing orders. This is a speech which has been crafted in the form of a motion, and the member for Wills should be told to stop.

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the House.

Bob McMullan (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, on the point of order: notwithstanding the discomfort of the Leader of the House, standing order 80 is clear and nothing can be done to prevent the member having the right to move his motion. It would be a travesty if the executive did have the capacity to interfere with the right of any member to move any motion in this House.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, on the point of order: the member for Wills is following the directive of the Speaker, who on 23 May said that the member for Wills should move a substantive motion. This is indeed a substantive motion, and the member for Wills should be allowed to read it and debate it.

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank you. I will rule on the point of order. To the member for Fraser: standing order 80 says that if the member is speaking, as the member for Wills was, the question could be put that the member no longer be heard, but I do not believe that the chair has the ability to cut off the member for Wills’s motion. The member for Wills may proceed.

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To assist the House, the motion is in 12 points and this is the seventh of them. I continue to move:

(7)

in fact the Member for Gwydir had a discussion with senior colleagues about AWB, Volcker and the Oil for Food Program in early 2005, followed by a one on one meeting with the Prime Minister to talk about AWB, and a meeting with AWB in June 2005;

(8)

the Member for Gwydir told the Insiders Program that while he was a Cabinet Minister he held no shares in any company, and neither did his wife;

(9)

in fact the member for Gwydir’s wife held shares in 8 companies between 1996 and 1998, shares in 7 companies between 1998 and 1999, shares in Coles Myer and Wattyl between 1999 and 2004, and still held shares in Coles Myer after December 2004;

(10)

the Minister for Foreign Affairs met with Mr Volcker on 27 September 2005 and was briefed that the Report would contain bad news for AWB;

(11)

on 4 October the Foreign Affairs Minister met with senior AWB officials in Canberra and told them that the Volcker report would implicate them in the corruption of the Oil for Food Program; and

(12)

the next day, 5 October, the Member for Gwydir lodged a sale note offloading shares held by him and his wife.

There is little doubt that the ‘wheat for weapons’ scandal is one of the worst political scandals this country has witnessed.

Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That that snivelling grub over there be not further heard.

Opposition members interjecting—

Order! Members shall not speak in the gangway.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I ask the obvious, which is that the Leader of the House withdraw that remark. He has a particular responsibility to uphold standards in this House. He once again has gone that yard too far.

If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally.

That is just—

The member for Grayndler will resume his seat. Under standing orders I am required to put the motion of the Leader of the House immediately. I will put that motion immediately.

Mr Deputy Speaker—

The member for Grayndler will resume his seat. I intend to put the motion immediately. All those of that opinion say aye; to the contrary no. Is a division required? Ring the bells for four minutes.

A division having been called and the bells being rung—

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: you are obliged to uphold that call to withdraw.

I am obliged to uphold the standing orders.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member for Cowan made a very abusive remark about the chair and I ask that he withdraw that remark.

I thank the member for Paterson. I did not hear the remark—

You are ruling on his point of order, but—

and, to cool the House down, we might just leave it at that.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I raise a point of order. Would you confirm that the motion before the House is ‘That that snivelling grub be no longer heard’. If that is the motion before the House, would you rule it out of order, because it clearly is unparliamentary.

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business has asked me to restate the motion.

No!

Sorry—has asked me to clarify what the motion was. For the benefit of the House—and I have already advised the Manager of Opposition Business of this—the Leader of the House did withdraw the words that are complained of; therefore the motion—

Mr Swan interjecting

The member for Lilley walks a fine line by calling the Deputy Speaker an idiot.

Mr Crean interjecting

The member for Hotham walks a fine line by clapping. For the benefit of members, the question before the House is ‘That the member be no longer heard’.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I raise another point of order. At what point was that motion moved? Not one person on this side of the House heard it. Secondly, Mr Deputy Speaker, in respect of the withdrawal of what you say were the offensive words, my clear recollection is that the Leader of the House said, ‘If I have offended grubs, then I withdraw.’ That is not an unconditional withdrawal; it is not an effective withdrawal; he never withdrew unconditionally the offensive words. The motion before the House is clearly out of order, because no in order motion was moved.

I thank the Manager of Opposition Business. The Leader of the House has clarified that it is his intention to withdraw those words and that what he said was intended to withdraw those words. I accept that. We will continue with the division.

Mr Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: no subsequent withdrawal can change the terms of the motion that was moved. He has to withdraw the motion and move another one. You cannot put before the parliament a motion containing unparliamentary language. It is a disgrace.

I thank the member for Fraser. I intend to put the motion. The motion is ‘That the member be no longer heard’. The ‘ayes’ will pass to the right of the chair, the ‘noes’ will pass to the left of the chair—

Ms Gillard interjecting

I am putting the motion. The motion is ‘That the member be no longer heard’.

Opposition members interjecting—

Order! We are wasting the time of the House. We will vote on the motion before the House.

Question put.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Would you rule for the benefit of the House what the motion was you just purported to put to a vote, who moved it and at what stage of the proceedings?

Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have stated the question on a number of occasions—that is ‘That the member be no longer heard’.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order—

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Hansard will show that it was moved by the Leader of the House.