The Clerk:

Honourable members, the next business is the election of a Speaker.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Clerk of the House and members, I move:

That the honourable member for Scullin do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

It is a true honour and a great delight to nominate a most distinguished and respected member of our parliament, the Hon. Harry Jenkins, the member for Scullin, as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 43rd Parliament of Australia. Harry has now been elected 10 times as the member for Scullin, beginning with the 1986 by-election, when he took over the role from his father, Dr Harry Jenkins Sr, who was himself the member for Scullin from 1969 to 1986 and Speaker of this House from 1983 to 1986.

Harry was born in Melbourne. Before entering parliament he studied science at the Australian National University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree. He also worked as a public servant for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Harry’s involvement in his local community began well before he entered parliament. He was a councillor with the Whittlesea Shire Council from 1979 to 1986 and then president of the shire from 1984 to 1985.

As the member for Scullin for the past 24 years, Harry has committed himself to representing his electorate and the people of Scullin. The overwhelming support he receives at each election really reflects that commitment and the hard work that he performs within his electorate for his constituents.

In parliament Harry’s greatest contribution has undoubtedly been that toward the speakership, beginning with his election as Deputy Speaker in 1993, through to 1996, and as Second Deputy Speaker from 1996 to 2008. We all know Harry’s saintly patience, his exhaustive knowledge of the standing orders and his even-handedness in the chair have earned him his reputation and the respect of colleagues on both sides of the House. The dignity and integrity with which he performs his role make him a role model for all members. Most importantly, in the execution of his duties Harry’s razor sharp wit and well-developed sense of humour have the ability to bring the House together even when tempers fray and the solemn business of government threatens to overwhelm.

In my view—and I am sure it is the view of many in this House—there is no-one in this parliament who is more qualified or deserving of the speakership role than Harry or who will bring to the House the experience and stability that the so-called new paradigm will demand. If there is another grand final draw on Saturday, Harry might be asked to decide that one as well! In making this nomination for the position, I wish the member for Scullin every success. I know that he will serve the parliament and, through it, our nation extremely well.

The Clerk:

Is the motion seconded?

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and wish to add my comments to those of my colleague from the class of 2004, the member for Hindmarsh. I take great pleasure in nominating Harry Jenkins as Speaker. I have personally known Harry for 15 years, since I first came here as a staffer. I have found Harry to be one of those people who encourage and support new people in this place in all the different roles that they fulfil. He has remained a friend to me over those 15 years, so it is a real pleasure to second the motion today.

I also want to indicate that when I was first elected to this place in 2004, sitting over on that side of the House, Harry sat in front of me. I assure the House that he took great pleasure in making sure that I understood the policies and procedures of question time and that I abided by the rules most of the time. He will no doubt deny that he encouraged me to be a little bit unruly on occasion. He assured me that that was only so that I could learn what I should not be doing in the chamber during question time. I took those lessons to heart.

I also had the great pleasure of being a member of the Speaker’s panel in the previous parliament, with Harry as Speaker. To me, he indicated through that role his great commitment to all of us in this place and to ensuring that we fulfil our roles as effectively as possible. I believe that Harry has the respect and regard of this chamber and, just as importantly, of the community more broadly. For these reasons, I believe Harry will help us in this place to meet and raise the standards that our communities expect of us in our endeavours on their behalf. It is a great pleasure to second the motion.

The Clerk:

Does Mr Jenkins accept the nomination?

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

Mr Clerk, there are a number of options. I could say: why not, or I suppose so, but may the record show, definitely yes.

The Clerk:

Is there any further proposal? There being no further proposal, the time for proposals has expired. I declare that the honourable member proposed, Mr Jenkins, has been elected Speaker.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members—Hear, hear!

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

I wish to express my grateful thanks for the high honour the House has been pleased to confer upon me.

The Speaker having seated himself in the chair—

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

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the government I offer my sincere congratulations on your election as Speaker of the House. It seems to have been a long time coming. I welcome your appointment not only as a valued colleague and old friend but as a person learned in the ways of this parliament and eminently suited by temperament and ability to be the Presiding Officer of this House. Given the unusually high level of attention recently to parliamentary reform, I honour your commitment to this cause and your longstanding dedication to improving the workings of the parliament. I can think of no-one more worthy of holding this office at such a crucial time for our democracy. The Leader of the Opposition has stated that you are the ‘ideal candidate to start a Westminster style speakership in this country’, and in that assessment I fully concur.

Mr Speaker, not since the election of your predecessor Walter Maxwell Nairn in the hung parliament of 1940 has your office played such a key role in our democracy. Three generations later we have a remarkable opportunity to rebuild the standing of this parliament in the eyes of the Australian people. Of course the role of Speaker is an ancient office that dates back continuously in the House of Commons to 1376, but in recent decades the existence of strong party rooms and large parliamentary majorities has inevitably affected the role of the Speaker. I sense a possible change ahead of us—for us and for you, Mr Speaker, in this parliament.

The outcome of this year’s election has renewed the importance of your office in making our parliament succeed. As your role is, of course, to be independent, Mr Speaker, I know that you will honour that in word and in deed. The quality of independence we associate with the office of the Speaker was strongly reaffirmed by the agreement for a better parliament signed on 6 September. That document confirms that the speakership is to be independent of government and that the Speaker will not attend the party room as other party members do. The government welcomes these obligations and we will do our best to uphold them.

Mr Speaker, the result of the 21 August election is a salutary reminder that parliament is not a creature of the executive and that every piece of legislation will require, and should be given, careful and thoughtful deliberation. It is also a reminder that our colleagues on the crossbench have their own rights as legislators which must be protected and upheld. For the government’s part we accept these realities and welcome the opportunity for reform that they present. We want this parliament to be productive both in its rules and procedures but also in its outcomes for the nation, and we pledge to uphold the spirit of consensus and goodwill at every possible turn.

It is true that our early hopes for a new beginning have not been fully realised. Both the government and the opposition had abundant opportunity to shape the agreement for a better parliament before freely accepting to be bound by its terms. This agreement is a charter of honour requiring the integrity of those who volunteered their endorsement. That some of the reforms outlined in the agreement have not been adhered to is a cause for regret, but I do not regard the agreement or the spirit that engendered it as a lost cause. Instead, I renew an invitation to the opposition to embrace the possibility of reform that characterises this new parliament and I say to my colleagues opposite: do not squander this moment whatever the temptation. As we have seen in other political cultures, short-term tactical victories lead only to longer term strategic defeat as our system declines in public esteem. That is the wrong path for Australia and a mistaken reading of the election result. This term of parliament is not an opportunity to re-fight the election, vote after vote, bill after bill. This is a time for consensus not confrontation, debate not destruction.

Of course we all know that does not mean that we have to agree on every issue, because a democracy is by definition a contest of values and ideals. But where we do diverge, our disagreements should be discussed with reason and civility, taking the national interest as our guide. The Australian people have sent us here expecting something better. They want a constructive parliament freed from the rancour and name-calling that has dragged it into such poor regard. As Speaker, we will seek your fair and impartial guidance in the unfamiliar landscape that lies ahead, and in turn you will seek from us our best endeavours to make this parliament work as our founders hoped. As the 43rd parliament begins, I would like to think that members will show not only the respect due to your office but also the personal regard that you have earned over your 24 years in this place where you have become renowned for your sense of good humour, which we have already seen on display today, your decency and your abundant common sense. With those qualities in mind I know the parliament has made a wise choice of Speaker and I thank you for accepting the office in these remarkable and demanding times. On behalf of the government, I extend to you my very warmest wishes on your election as Speaker. Thank you very much.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members—Hear, hear!

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

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the coalition, I join with the Prime Minister in extending to you our congratulations and best wishes on your re-election to this high office. I have to say, Mr Speaker, that of all the members of this parliament you are obviously the best suited for the office which you now hold. Mr Speaker, I never wavered in my faith that you were the best person for the job that you hold. There were weeks when others doubted. There were weeks when you must have doubted yourself what was going to emerge from this parliament. But I was with you every step of the way. I was there, I was your true friend and I was the true friend of a genuinely independent speakership in this parliament. I was the true friend and, I would like to think, the author of the beginnings of a Westminster style speakership in this parliament.

Mr Speaker, yes, this is a finely balanced parliament, but the fact that it is a finely balanced parliament does not excuse the government from its duty to keep its election commitments. It does not excuse the government from its duty to be an effective government. It can lower expectations all it likes here, but out there in the country the people of Australia expect a government that keeps its election commitments. It cannot walk away from its election commitments simply because of the closeness of the numbers in this parliament. So, Mr Speaker, this is an opposition which will hold this government to account. This is an opposition which will expect of this government that it honours its commitments. What that means is that this will be a parliament of robust debate. That is what the people expect. They do not expect a false consensus. They do not expect the pretence of agreement when there is none. They expect the values and the principles and the commitments that were brought to this parliament by different members to be vigorously expressed in this place. Mr Speaker, it is precisely because of the qualities that you have previously shown in the chair that you are the right man to hold this job at this time.

It was obvious to all members on this side of the parliament that you were very unhappy with the way the parliament was conducted in the last term. Your impatience with longwinded ministerial answers was palpable. Your unhappiness with irrelevant answers was obvious to all. Well, Mr Speaker, you sought different standing orders; you will soon have different standing orders. Under the new standing orders you will have the opportunity to ensure not only that ministerial answers are brief but that they are directly relevant to the question—that answers are not the answers that ministers wish to give but that they are, at last, directly relevant to the question that has actually been asked.

Mr Speaker, you are the custodian of the traditions of this parliament. You are the custodian of the rights of members. You are no longer a creature of party. You are no longer the creature of the executive. You are now free to be in this parliament everything that a Westminster style Speaker should be. This is your time, Mr Speaker, and I know you will use it in the best interests of this parliament and this nation.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members—Hear, hear!

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

Mr Speaker, may I join in congratulating you on your re-election to this high office. The fact that you were the unanimous choice of the parliament demonstrates the trust and the confidence that your fellow members have in your capacity to do this job. You had to wait rather a long time to get the nod from your own colleagues, and the unseemly searching around for somebody else to do this job is a reflection on the government, not on you. The reality is that you are the best person to fill this office. The parliament has made the right choice. You are capable and you are experienced. For a long time, you were Speaker in waiting. After three years in the job, you have a first-class understanding of the standing orders, you value the traditions of the parliament and you give to this House the dignity that it should have as the pinnacle of our constitutional democracy. Your good humour and able adjudication has also been appreciated by all members of the House.

I know that many more on this side of the House have tasted the wrath of your discipline than on the other side, but I have to acknowledge that from time to time we may have aggrieved you and that your wrath was justified. What is going to be most important for the future, however, is that the determination and the patience that you have shown is able to transform the parliament into a debating chamber more in the style that you have desired to happen and have expressed a wish to happen in the past. You have often said that your capacity to do your job was limited by deficiencies in the standing orders. I understand we are to get changes to the standing orders, but those changes of themselves will not be enough to change the culture of the parliament. Some of those changes have already been made in the Senate and I am told that it has not made all that much difference. So your role will be critical not only in ushering in these new standing orders but in making sure that they do indeed deliver a change in the culture of the parliament—especially at question time, which is I guess the period of this parliament which is most in the public eye, because it is really the only period that receives any kind of mass television coverage. I think the public judges very much the performance of the parliament on the basis of what they see in question time. So your challenge now, under the standing orders that you asked for, is to make sure that they do deliver a better parliament.

Your role is critical to the performance of the parliament. I am delighted that you have been chosen to be Speaker. I have no doubt that you will deliver to this office the same dignity and respect that you did in the last parliament and that, as a result, we can get about the business of building a better country with a parliament that works effectively and well. Congratulations, Harry Jenkins, on your election. I know that you will serve this office well.

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

Mr Speaker, I welcome your re-election as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is indeed a great honour for you to be reappointed unanimously to this role, as it is a great honour for each and every member to sit in this House of Representatives. I join with you in congratulating all those new members, wherever they sit in the chamber, who have been elected for the first time to this parliament. It is indeed an incredible honour and a privilege which brings with it great responsibility. I particularly want to single out the member for Hasluck as the first Indigenous member of the House of Representatives and also the member for Chifley as the first person of Islamic faith to be elected to this parliament. I thought it was particularly noteworthy when Michael Danby, the member for Melbourne Ports, and the member for Chifley had their swearing-in at the same time at this dispatch box. It is important that this parliament continue to reflect the Australian people in its composition. In doing so we have got a parliament that does reflect more so the Australian public.

I welcome the fact that we do have a more difficult parliament that will make my job more difficult from time to time. It brings with it responsibilities for you, Mr Speaker, but also for each of the 150 members who have been elected to this House. You will preside over a new set of standing orders when they are adopted by the House tomorrow. That set of standing orders provides reforms which will allow for greater participation of all 150 members of this House. It will provide for greater accountability in question time of the executive. It will provide for greater opportunity for discussion of interest to individual members’ electorates. That was something that was embraced by us when we came to government in 2007 with the changes that we made. At that time it did not have support of the whole of the parliament. It is to be hoped that tomorrow the reforms that will be put through do have the support of the entire membership of the House of Representatives. The member for Lyne deserves special thanks from all members of this House in showing the leadership that he showed.

Mr Speaker, the fact is that parliamentary reform was something that you advocated from the chair on many occasions in the last parliament. The fact is that majority governments, whether they be Labor or coalition, have been reluctant to support those reforms and therefore give away the advantage that governments have on the floor of this chamber. The new composition given to us by the Australian people on 21 August has ensured that those reforms will take place. But without goodwill, without cooperation and without the spirit as well as the letter of the reforms, it is just a bit of paper. I pledge to work with you, Mr Speaker, as the Leader of the House cooperatively with the Manager of Opposition Business and with crossbench members to ensure that the spirit of the reforms is implemented and that you are in a position to be able to drive those reforms in your high office to which you have been deservingly reappointed here today.

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

Mr Speaker, can I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the House and the Leader of the National Party in congratulating you on your re-election as Speaker for the 43rd parliament. That might be a short term or a long term; let us hope it is a long term as the opposition believes you have done a great job in the last three years in the 42nd parliament in trying to be fair and reasonable in the difficult circumstances of having standing orders very much weighted on behalf of one side of the House. The standing orders that we will pass today or tomorrow in order to do this facilitate the election of the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker—that may be today or it may be tomorrow—will give you the opportunity to give full vent to your stated desire over the last three years that the parliament change the standing orders so that you could make question time more relevant, more appropriate and a better place for the parliament, which the opposition has very much wanted over those last three years.

Mr Speaker, I think it is fair to say and honest to say that you and I have had something of a love-hate relationship over the last few years. As Manager of Opposition Business I need you to love me but I have not always felt that love. I am very much looking forward in the 43rd parliament to us being able to change that relationship so that there is a lot more love flowing between us as Speaker and Manager of Opposition Business and that you might leaven some of the exits of members of this House that occurred with a few more from the other side as the months and years progress. So congratulations to you and I look forward very much to being your Manager of Opposition Business.

Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I assure you, Mr Speaker, and all members that I will be brief—

Honourable Member:

An honourable member—Four minutes.

Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, four minutes. Despite the skulduggery you may have heard in dispatches over the last fortnight, I rise I think on behalf of all the crossbenchers to assure you that you will have the full support of the crossbenchers in your challenging role over the next three years, we hope. In particular I make note of the references to the implementing of the new reforms over the next 48 hours and the general agreement and spirit behind the Agreement for a better parliament. You have our full support. I hope the sunshine is coming in and I hope we all can make hay while the sun shines under your rule.

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

Members, I thank you very sincerely for the honour that you have bestowed upon me. It is often said that some of the challenges that confront us should be looked at as opportunities and in fact I see the situation of this, the 43rd Parliament, in that light.

I thank the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Nationals, the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition Business and the member for Lyne for their kind words of congratulation. I thank the member for Hindmarsh and the member for Cunningham for their comments in nominating me for this high office. I repeat an often made comment that those that nominate and second me for positions that involve chair duty should not look upon that as getting a free run from the chair. I know that both the members were very cautious in their comments, so that is probably an added advantage to them.

This is a challenging time for the parliament. The reform document that has been spoken about up until today was, I felt, in the ownership of a small number of people. It is now in the ownership of the whole House. The whole House—each of the 150 members—has an opportunity presented by a minority government in this 43rd Parliament of getting effective, positive changes to the way in which this place operates. But I would hope that we do that in a way that enables those changes to be sustainable—that those changes would continue under differing circumstances of numbers within the chamber. I feel that those from outside who look upon the work of the chamber demand that.

I have said that I want the parliament to be a modern parliament. We have a lot of traditions on which our work is based and which are the rock for the way we go about our work. There has been mention made of the Westminster system. I have had reason to research even further the Westminster system, and I urge those that can find the time to do so to research it themselves, because much of what we talk about in Westminster is by convention. It is by agreement; it is by parties with differing views in policy having a common aim about the way the parliament operates. So as we work along in implementing a number of things for which I see continuing agreement in the parliamentary reform document, I would hope that we look to further opportunities that might arise about the way in which we relate to each other that can bring this lasting change that I am hopeful of.

The Leader of the House made some comments about the membership of the class of 2010, and I believe that this is a wonderful occasion where, representing Hasluck, we have a proud Noongar, Yamatji and Wongi man, whilst, representing Chifley, we have the son of a Bosnian Muslim immigrant family. That does indicate that we are starting to have a more representative membership in this place. Let our work be more representative; let us be a chamber that, despite the continuing robust nature of our engagement, those who observe from outside can be proud of.

In conclusion I just have two groups of people that I wish to thank. The people of Scullin have continued to support me but I, like all of us, have to acknowledge that when we come here representing a major party, despite thinking it is our greatness that gets us across the line, it is because of the support for the organisation and the political party that we are proud to go forward as candidates. I have, as is demanded by the parliamentary reform document, put myself in self-imposed exile from the federal parliamentary Labor Party. Much has been said about how a person who steps outside that system can continue to represent their electorate. It is very high in my thoughts as to the ways in which I can continue to carry out that important duty, because to do that makes my job in representing an electorate more difficult.

In the 42nd Parliament I withdrew from the activities of the caucus when there was discussion of tactics. I think I was the first Speaker for a long time to have no idea of the list of questions from either side. I was happy with that, but the reason that I thought I should be involved in the discussion of policy was that I owed it to the people who placed me here as their representative. So the step that is made is a big step, but I say to the constituents of Scullin that I will use my best endeavours, like my 149 colleagues in this House, to make sure that their hopes and aspirations get some ventilation through the other aspects of parliamentary life that are available to me.

Finally, I thank my family, who are represented in the gallery today—both my immediate family and my extended family. It is true to say that it has been an interesting period over the last few weeks, and you get to acknowledge those that are close to you, both family and friends. At some stage, perhaps, the true story of the last few weeks will be aired, but I am happy that I have had the support of family and true friends over the last few weeks. It has given me the strength and the desire to take this position. I say to the House that I will use my best endeavours to make sure that the House of Representatives, throughout the 43rd Parliament, is a workable house and that we do engage in a way which is in the best interests of Australia as a nation.