Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I move:

That the member for Fisher, Peter Slipper, be elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

One only needs to go to the 2008 Parliamentary Handbook to see that the member for Fisher is eminently qualified to occupy the position of Deputy Speaker. He has been a member of the Speaker’s panel from the 18 February 2008. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration from 21 October 1998 to 26 October 2004. He was acting Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister from 14 March 2002 to 7 October 2003.

I got to know the member for Fisher well when I chaired the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee from 1993 to 1996. He was a contributing member to that committee. He was a diligent member of that committee, so much so that he subsequently became chairman of that committee from 2 December 2004 to 17 October 2007. I commend the member for Fisher to the House for the position of Deputy Speaker.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion of the member for Banks in nominating the member for Fisher for the position of Deputy Speaker. Peter Slipper joined this House originally in 1984 and was here for but a short time, on that occasion as a member of the National Party. He rejoined the House in 1993 and has served diligently on that side of the House with his Liberal colleagues ever since. He has been a member of the Speaker’s panel since 2008 and served on parliamentary committees, particularly the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs and Family and Community Affairs committees.

Before coming to this place, Peter had a practice as a barrister and solicitor in various jurisdictions and also made a career as a farmer and a business person. Since I came to this place in a by-election in 2005, Peter Slipper has befriended me and assisted me in what I still regard as the very steep learning curve that members go through here. It is not just members on one side of the House that contribute to that learning experience—all colleagues play a role in that. I thank the member for Fisher for his assistance in my journey. As I say, I have pleasure in seconding the nomination of the member for Banks.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there any further motion?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the member for Maranoa, Bruce Scott, be elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It gives me great pleasure to place the name of my friend and colleague the member for Maranoa in nomination for the coalition for Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 43rd Parliament. While the coalition recognises the fine service that the member for Fisher has given to the parliament since his election, we support the member for Maranoa in this nomination as Deputy Speaker of the 43rd Parliament.

The member for Maranoa joined the parliament in 1990, has served over those 20 years as a shadow minister, as a Minister for Veterans’ Affairs—indeed, he was a very accomplished and very successful Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, much loved by the veteran community—and has achieved many notable acts on their behalf during the period of the Howard government. He has served over those 20 years as Chairman of Committees and as Deputy Chairman of Committees. He has also been a member of the Speaker’s panel for many of the years of the last decade and, of course, was the Second Deputy Speaker in the 42nd Parliament.

He represents a very wide and diverse electorate in south-western Queensland where he has served those constituents very well over those 20 years. He is a fine advocate of rural and regional issues in both the National Party and in the coalition. He is a member of the coalition and supports it very strongly. He strongly supported the merger in Queensland so that the conservatives and Liberals in Queensland could speak with one voice at the state and federal levels. If he were to be elected Deputy Speaker, he would certainly improve the parliament under the new arrangements—as he would have under the old arrangements. He is a diligent supporter of parliamentary reform. He cares about the parliament. He understands the parliament. He has the character and integrity necessary to be an independent member in the Speaker’s chair. I would strongly recommend that the member for Maranoa be elected Deputy Speaker today.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I second the motion and the nomination of the member for Maranoa as Deputy Speaker in this parliament. The member for Maranoa is a man of integrity and a person respected by both sides of this chamber. For many decades the member for Maranoa has been a champion for the interests of regional Australia. That commitment extends from prior to 1990 when he was first elected to this House. Before entering the House, Mr Scott was heavily involved in the farming community, holding executive roles in a number of organisations, including merino breeder organisations, and he became an Australian Nuffield Farming Scholar.

Since his election to this House, the member for Maranoa has served his constituency and indeed the parliament with distinction. He has served both as a minister and as a shadow minister. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, for which he is to this day remembered fondly by the veteran community. Indeed, he is a life member of the Returned and Services League of Australia and also the Royal Australian Air Force Association. Many of the additional entitlements which veterans enjoy today can be attributed to Mr Scott’s empathy with the plight of veterans and their families and his response as a minister to their challenging circumstances.

From 2001 until November 2007, the member for Maranoa was the chairman of the Defence Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. In 2002, he visited the Australian defence forces serving under Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Dubai as chairman of the Defence Subcommittee. In 2005, Mr Scott visited the troops in Iraq and, in the same year, he also led a parliamentary delegation to Taipei and the USA. In 2002, Mr Scott spent three months in New York City as a parliamentary adviser to the United Nations General Assembly. He also led a mission to the APEC parliamentary forum in Mexico.

Between 2002 and 2007 Mr Scott served as Acting Deputy Speaker. In February 2008, he was elected Second Deputy Speaker of this House for the 42nd Australian Parliament. This experience and the obvious qualities which the member for Maranoa brings to this House make him a natural fit for the role of Deputy Speaker in the new parliament.

It is with great pleasure that I second this nomination.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No further motions have been moved and the time for motions has expired. The question is that the ballot be taken now.

Question agreed to.

In accordance with standing order 14, the bells will be rung and a ballot taken.

Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a question of procedure: should the two nominees accept the nomination before we have the ballot?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the honourable member for Hume and other members to the standing order, but I congratulate the honourable member for Hume for raising a point of order and not thinking that we still can interject on the Speaker. The standing orders are silent on the matter of asking those that have been nominated if they accept the nomination. It is in contrast to the rules for the election of Speaker, where it specifically states that a nominee should accept the nomination.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: as you are now an independent Speaker, I believe that you have the power to rule that those people who have been nominated might, in accordance with ordinary principles, state as to whether or not they accept the nomination.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mackellar for her point of order. I already indicated my ruling upon this matter when the member for Hume raised this matter with me. The standing orders are clear on this matter and, in fact, to do with the election of the Deputy Speaker, it allows for members to be nominated in their absence.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar will withdraw the comment.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw the comment.

The bells having been rung and a ballot having been taken—

17:25:09

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The result of the ballot is: Mr Slipper, 78 votes; Mr Scott, 71 votes. Mr Slipper is elected Deputy Speaker and Mr Scott shall be Second Deputy Speaker.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government, I offer our congratulations to both the member for Fisher, Mr Slipper, and the member for Maranoa, Mr Scott, on their election as Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker. Mr Speaker, as I said in my congratulatory remarks to you, it is the intention of the government on all occasions to honour the spirit of the parliamentary reform agreement. That agreement was predicated on a discussion about the role of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker and how that could work. One of the elements of that agreement was that if the Speaker was from a political party then the Deputy Speaker should be from a different political party, and I am pleased to see that that result has been achieved.

I will not repeat the kind words of the member for Banks and the member for Werriwa about the member for Fisher, but I will add that he is obviously a person with the attributes and capabilities to do the job of Deputy Speaker. I have been in the chamber when he has been in the chair and presiding over this parliament. I recall on one occasion in quite a difficult debate which got a bit willing that he was able to keep the chamber under control and to keep the business of the day moving. My congratulations go to our new Deputy Speaker and I am sure he will do a very able job.

The member for Maranoa is a very well-liked member of this parliament and he is known as someone who strives to do the best for his constituency on all occasions. As a member of the executive, particularly as Minister for Education, I had a number of very productive discussions with him on the question of how we can best serve the needs of children in schools right around the country, including children who get their education through distance education. I think he is known in this place as a man of integrity and as a gentle man. Maybe he will have to be a little less gentle in the chair in this parliament, but as a government we offer our congratulations to him for being elected Second Deputy Speaker.

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

I rise, like the Prime Minister, to congratulate the members for Fisher and Maranoa on their election as Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker. This is obviously going to be an unusual parliament and it is unprecedented for the opposition to provide both the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker. It is a sign of just what an unusual parliament this is—and hopefully, in some respects, a better parliament—that we have emerged from today’s proceedings with yourself, Mr Speaker, a member of the government party, as the Speaker, and the members for Fisher and Maranoa, members of the opposition parties, as Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker.

I think it will help develop a better tone of debate in this place to have such a speakership team. To have as the Speaker a person who, although a member of the Labor Party, has such a fine reputation in this place is undoubtedly a good thing, and I think to have members of the opposition parties as your principal assistants in the chair will develop a new speakership tradition in this parliament—a speakership which is not beholden to the executive, which genuinely serves the interests of this parliament and which genuinely champions the interests of the members of this parliament for the betterment of the people of Australia. I think that the speakership team that the parliament has settled on this afternoon is fitting, given the unprecedented circumstances in which we find ourselves.

The coalition strongly support parliamentary reform. It did not take a hung parliament to bring out our support for parliamentary reform; before the election we supported parliamentary reform. When the Prime Minister was saying that parliamentary reform was of no interest to the public, this side of the chamber supported parliamentary reform. In a sense, we are the authors and parents of genuine parliamentary reform in this parliament. But the one element of the parliamentary reform agreement that we do not accept is the pairing of the Speaker. Proper consideration of that particular proposal revealed it to be constitutionally unsound. The pairing of the Speaker turned out to be something that could not be enforced. I have to say that the great affairs of state of this country are too important to be determined on the basis of an informal arrangement. This coalition and this opposition do not support the pairing of the Speaker. We do not support all the arrangements designed to bring about the pairing of the Speaker.

Under the Constitution, as you are aware, Mr Speaker, the only vote that the Speaker can exercise is a casting vote. Under the Constitution, no member of this parliament can be prevented from exercising a deliberative vote. That is the constitutional position and that is the position which this opposition and this coalition strongly support. No member of this parliament except you, Mr Speaker, can be prevented by any contrivance or arrangement from exercising a deliberative vote in this place.

When rumours swept this parliament late last night that the member for Fisher was likely to accept the ALP’s nomination for the deputy speakership, the member for Fisher did a very courageous thing: he issued a public statement that said that while he was interested in the deputy speakership—and who would not be interested in serving the parliament in some senior capacity—he would never accept the nomination on any basis that involved the guarantee of supply or confidence in the government, and he would never accept the nomination on any understanding that he would not exercise a deliberative vote in the interests of his electors and in the interests of the party which he has served for so long. I congratulate the nominator and the seconder of the member for Fisher for nominating him for this high office on that basis—that he will vote as a normal member of this parliament in the normal proceedings of this parliament—and I congratulate the member for Fisher on accepting high office on that basis. I congratulate him, as do all members of the coalition.

I now turn to the member for Maranoa. I join the Prime Minister in her gracious words of tribute to the member for Maranoa. The member for Maranoa served as the Second Deputy Speaker in the last parliament, and he served in that position with great distinction. He is an extremely well-liked member of this parliament. I know that the member for Maranoa and the member for Fisher will serve as a fine complement to the member for Scullin in the chair. I believe that the parliament will be well served by the team which will occupy the chair in this chamber.

I again congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on returning to the high office which you occupied in the last parliament. I congratulate the member for Fisher, who has been a friend of mine for a very long time who has served this parliament in many capacities with distinction, and I congratulate the member for Maranoa on returning to the job which he filled with such distinction in the last parliament.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also want to congratulate Mr Slipper and Mr Scott on their election to the Deputy Speaker positions. Mr Slipper, the member for Fisher, was previously on the Speaker’s panel and therefore has experience in managing this House. I am sure that that experience will be a valuable asset to him in his new role. Mr Scott also was on the Speaker’s panel. He has been active in the chair for a long period of time and is the retiring Second Deputy Speaker. He has prepared a number of papers on parliamentary reform, so I am sure he will be very interested in progress and development on the standing orders, and the way in which they can be better used and managed to achieve a fairer and more balanced parliament. I congratulate them on their election.

We are told there is a new paradigm, but the government’s nominee has been elected to the Deputy Speaker position—something I think has happened in every parliament since 1901. So, in fact, there is no change; the government’s nominee is the Deputy Speaker. The Second Deputy Speaker is the man who was elected to that office in the last parliament, so he continues in that role. Therefore, the differences that some people are seeking to highlight and champion may not be quite so apparent.

Both the member for Fisher and the member for Maranoa are neighbours of mine electorally, so I have got to know them quite well over the years. Indeed, Mr Scott and I came into parliament on the same day and sat together in this place for some time. I have a very high regard for his integrity, his ability, his diligence and his determination, and as a colleague and a fellow National particularly I congratulate him on being re-elected to and continuing in the position of Second Deputy Speaker. We wish the new team in the chair every success, and the opposition will do what it can to help make sure that the new parliament works as smoothly and as constructively as possible.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the National Party in congratulating the member for Fisher on his election as Deputy Speaker and the member for Maranoa on his election as Second Deputy Speaker. I of course know both these gentlemen as local members. I have particularly enjoyed travelling to the electorate of the member for Maranoa. Both of them have served the parliament well in the capacity of chair of the parliament. Indeed, during the last session the member for Fisher showed his ability to act as an independent Speaker when the opposition moved dissent to his ruling—an unusual circumstance, indeed, but one that I remembered at an appropriate time. The member for Maranoa has also served in the chair, both in this chamber and in the second chamber, and will of course be an outstanding representative. Together with you, Mr Speaker, they make a very good team indeed.

The Leader of the Opposition referred to parliamentary reform. I am a supporter of parliamentary reform and I believe that the agreement entered into freely by the Labor Party, the coalition and the Independents should have been adhered to. There is no constitutional impediment whatsoever to the pairing of the Speaker, and when this issue was raised the coalition said that they would abide by the advice of the Solicitor-General. I table the advice of the Solicitor-General, who happens to have the same view that the former Solicitor-General had under the Howard government, which is that pairing is by its nature not recognised in standing orders. It is an informal arrangement based upon a moral and political obligation. That is what Stephen Gageler recommended in his advice and that is certainly the case.

Tomorrow we will be moving to the debate on the package of reform measures as predicated by the Better Parliament document. I think there is very broad agreement across the board for that document. There may well be one or two items that are raised by members in the form of amendments but there is agreement moving forward. One thing that people might note is that no pairing arrangements are recognised in the standing orders now, nor will they be recognised tomorrow. They are a matter of honour within the parliament. The parliament has to function on a range of conventions, not just on the standing orders, and that is very much recognised by the House of Representatives Practice.

The Leader of the Opposition referred to the statement put out last night by the member for Fisher. Unlike the statement by the member for Fairfax, this one actually came from the member for Fisher and the member for Fisher has not repudiated the statement put out by the Leader of the Opposition’s office. Can I report to the House that indeed that is the position of the member for Fisher. There have been no undertakings given to anyone in this chamber, that I am aware of, other than that he will fulfil the responsibilities of Deputy Speaker in accordance with the obligations that such high office holds. I have no doubt that he will do that, as I have no doubt that the member for Maranoa will fulfil his obligations as well in terms of the obligations that you have fulfilled, Mr Speaker, consistent with the parliamentary reform document, in your indication earlier today that you have withdrawn from Labor Party caucus processes. It was envisaged in the document on parliamentary reform that both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker would come from different political parties and that both of them would withdraw from caucus activities in their party room.

I congratulate the member for Fisher and I congratulate the member for Maranoa. I look forward to being a part of the implementation of parliamentary reform in this 43rd parliament.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This has been a red-letter day for the parliament. The Speaker, from the Labor Party, has been elected at the urging and support of the opposition. It took, I think, two weeks for the Labor Party to support the current Speaker; the opposition supported him from the first moment that the election was over. And the Deputy Speaker has been elected at the nomination of the Labor Party, even though the Deputy Speaker is from our side of the House. So it is a red-letter day.

The former Deputy Speaker, the member for Chisholm, has not been elected by anyone. I pass on my condolences to the member for Chisholm, Anna Burke, who was a very good Deputy Speaker in the previous parliament and seems to have fallen between all the cracks. I pay tribute to the role she played in the 42nd Parliament as the Deputy Speaker. I am sorry for her that her own party saw fit, instead of supporting her for Deputy Speaker, to support a member of the coalition.

We on the coalition side are delighted that in the 43rd Parliament we have ended with both the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker positions, another mark for a red-letter day. In the 43rd Parliament the coalition holds both the deputy speakership and the second deputy speakership and has also maintained the constitutional validity of the standing orders by making sure that a deliberative vote has not been taken away through a contrivance or artifice proposed by the Labor Party. I note the Leader of the House has tabled the Solicitor-General’s opinion and I seek leave to table the shadow Attorney-General’s opinion. I seek leave to table the critique of the Solicitor-General’s opinion as well, which I am sure he will be happy to accept.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is indeed granted for Brandis on Brandis, Mr Speaker.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So it should be. The opinion provided to the coalition by the shadow Attorney-General makes it quite clear that entering into a contrivance or an artifice to deny a deliberative vote would have been open to challenge in the High Court. But that will not be the case because the coalition did not go down that constitutionally unsound route. The Solicitor-General did indeed cast an opinion of his own and the shadow Attorney-General, George Brandis SC, provided an excellent critique which showed that the spin that the government put on the Solicitor-General’s opinion was not in fact what the Solicitor-General had proposed at all. So, in congratulating the new Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker, can I say that we will work constructively to make the parliament work—of course we will. On behalf of the 5½ million people who voted for the coalition, we will also be holding the government to account. That is the job that we have been elected to do. The independents decided to support the Labor Party and in doing so cast what I regard as a bad government that is getting worse back into office. We as an opposition will do our job, one that the independents have cast us into, by holding the government to account and the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker, both being loyal members of the coalition and in fact of the Liberal and National parties, will help us to do so, maintaining their deliberative votes and ensuring that this very bad government is held to account.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the outset I would like to thank the honourable members for Banks and Werriwa and also the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Nationals, the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business for their kind words. I would also like to thank honourable members for their support and I would like to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your unopposed election this morning. The Leader of the Opposition quite accurately pointed out that I have not given any commitments with respect to my role as Deputy Speaker. Following some misleading reports, I drafted a media release yesterday. In fact, I had the Leader of the Opposition at the other end of the phone taking down my words and I joked that I was possibly the only member of parliament to have the Leader of the Opposition as his press secretary—and a very good press secretary you are, Leader, as well. In my media release I did say that I would be happy to serve the parliament as Deputy Speaker but certainly not on the basis of pairing my vote or guaranteeing confidence and supply to the government. I pointed out that reports that I had done a deal with the Labor Party to this effect were absolutely incorrect, and of course that has been confirmed by the Leader of the House.

Let me also say that when I was first elected to the Australian parliament Dr Harry Jenkins was the Speaker. I was a very junior member of the House at that time and I used to sit as a member of the then National Party over in what was called cockies corner. The speakers gallery used to be right in the corner and the current Mr Speaker’s mother, Mrs Jenkins, used to sit there and watch the excellent performance as Speaker of Dr Harry Jenkins. In those days I was fairly sort of loud and I participated in debate in a very robust way and I was forever being, shall we say, lectured by the Speaker and being told to be silent and not to interject. I often really wondered how on earth he knew that it was I, because there was a lot of people very vigorously participating in interjections. It was only a couple of years ago, when I was having a private conversation, that the current Mr Speaker told me that his father was somewhat deaf and that what used to happen was that Mrs Jenkins used to point in my direction as the culprit and I then received gentle advice and discipline from Mr Speaker Jenkins Sr.

Let me also say how pleased I am that my wife Inga and my children, Nicholas and Alexandra, are here in the gallery today. I am very supportive of the concept of parliamentary reform. I am very passionate about the institution of parliament and I am certainly looking forward to working with you, Mr Speaker, and also with my very good friend and colleague the member for Maranoa as Second Deputy Speaker. I think we will work well together as a team. I feel enormously humble over the support for my election as Deputy Speaker. I certainly pledge to the parliament that I will give this onerous task in the 43rd Parliament my utmost. I will certainly do the best that I can to fulfil the expectations of the parliament and the confidence that the parliament has expressed in me today. I thank the House.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also thank the House. Firstly, I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your re-election albeit you looked rather unwilling as you were dragged to the chair this morning! I worked with you in the last parliament as the Second Deputy Speaker and I certainly look forward to working with you in this parliament as the Second Deputy Speaker. I thank also the member for Sturt and the member for Cowper for their very kind words. I think I should put them on my campaign team for the next election because sometimes you need someone who can find some very good things to say about you as the member as you go to your constituency for re-election, so I do thank the member for Sturt and the member for Cowper for their very kind words.

To the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Nationals I thank you for your very kind words. There is a generous nature expressed at these times. It is on occasions like this that we really see the best of this parliament, because there are days when, I think, we all feel rather ashamed of what is being presented to the general public. So I thank each and every one of you for your very kind words.

I thank the member for Fisher for his comments in relation to working together. It is important in this parliament and as you outlined in your remarks, Mr Speaker, this is a unique parliament. I think each and every one of us is very privileged to be a part of what is a very unique parliament. The ethnic and religious mix of people coming from many walks of life that makes up this parliament shows that it really is now the House of Representatives of the people of Australia.

I say to the member for Chisholm that in the last parliament I worked very, very well with you. You and I had a great working relationship. I appreciated the staff that you had organising the daily routines. It is an arduous job and you did it very, very well. I thank you for the way we worked together in the last parliament. I am sure you will find things to do in this forthcoming parliament, and I do commiserate with you for not being nominated by your own side for a position in the Deputy Speaker’s role.

It is a great privilege to be returned from the seat of Maranoa to the federal parliament. It may be of interest to the member for Fisher to know that Sir Charles Adermann was, in fact, the member for Maranoa prior to becoming the member for Fisher. He was not Deputy Speaker while he was the member for Maranoa but he did become the Deputy Speaker when he became the member for Fisher. He, as a member of the Country Party at that time, gave a great service to this parliament. I am sure we will be able to work as neighbours together for the betterment of this parliament.

I want to say one other thing, because it is a great honour for me today to have the treasurer of the federal divisional council, Mrs Ann Gibbes from Roma, with me here today. Every member needs a good treasurer just like a parliament and a government need a good treasurer. Mrs Gibbes’s uncle, Mr Campbell, was, in fact, one of the founders of the Country Party. Ann, it is great to have you here today. You are a great treasurer and you also have the history and family background with your uncle, Mr Alan Campbell, who is one of the founders of the Country Party, which became the National Party and which now in Queensland has joined with the Liberal Party to become the Liberal National Party. It is wonderful to have you here and it is a great honour not only to serve the people of Maranoa but to serve in this parliament as the Second Deputy Speaker. I look forward to working with everyone as we bring forward some of these reforms to make sure that they can work in the best interests of all Australians and I thank the House.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Without wishing to overly delay the House, I join with others in congratulating the members for Fisher and Maranoa. I congratulate the member for Fisher on his election to the position of Deputy Speaker.

Today my mother, Wendy, witnessed the revelation of a private conversation between myself and the member for Fisher. Comments made from time to time about the family tradition of my family say that my mother was very much a guiding light in the way in which my development within the Australian Labor Party occurred. She was a member of the Victorian central executive in 1970, which was dismissed by federal intervention, that enabled the rebuilding federally of the Australian Labor Party that led to the election of the Whitlam government. So the fact that she would use the advantage she had sitting behind the member for Fisher to ensure that he was dobbed in is not surprising. I look forward to working with him in the opportunities that are presented to us in this new parliament.

To the member for Maranoa, congratulations on your re-election. It was a pleasure in the last parliament to work with you. As others have said, you have applied your mind to the issues of parliamentary reform and I think that you look forward to the opportunities that do exist.

I join with the member from Maranoa in making comments about the member for Chisholm. I could not have had a more loyal and hardworking deputy in the 42nd parliament. It is a regret that the circumstances we find ourselves in means that there are decisions made that are, from time to time, not in the interests of the individual. I know that the member for Chisholm will continue to make a very great contribution to this House throughout the 43rd parliament, and I wish her all the best and thank her sincerely for her support.