Carmen Lawrence (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask a further question of you in relation to your answer. First of all, can you inform the House, now or at a later stage, what those guidelines or rules might be that apply and how it is that, in particular, Mr Edward McMillan-Scott, the Vice-President of the European parliament and a Conservative MEP, I might say, was not given appropriate treatment in this House nor were the appropriate courtesies extended to him. I ask further whether indeed government ministers may have had some role in your decision.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I make it quite clear to the member for Fremantle on her last point that I have not had anyone approach me on that matter. On the first point, of course, the decision on distinguished visitors does remain within the province of the chair, and the chair makes the decision accordingly, in what I believe is a reasonable manner, to recognise people. Can I make a point to the member for Fremantle: I have many requests from members to recognise many people in the gallery. Often I do not choose to recognise them for the very simple reason that question time is the province of members and, while I wish to recognise some, it is really only the—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It is within the province of the chair to make that decision.