Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, I have a question for you in relation to some rulings over the last two days. Today I took a couple of points of order, as did other members on our side under standing order 90 and also under standing order 92(b). Standing order 90, in particular, says:

All imputations of improper motives … shall be considered highly disorderly.

We took a point of order on the basis—

Mr Albanese interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House!

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will you stop him interjecting all the time?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Canning will stop this annoying chitchat over the table. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is raising a very important point and I think she should be heard in silence.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I maintained, and other members maintained, that where the Prime Minister and other ministers repeatedly perpetuated a falsity, that was highly disorderly. You, Deputy Speaker, said in those circumstances under section 90 there are other forms or other means by which this can be dealt with in the House—meaning, presumably, personal explanations and the like. However, under standing order 92(ii), 'when a member’s conduct is considered offensive or disorderly' the Speaker is able to intervene, if the Speaker does consider that the conduct was 'offensive or disorderly'. In this case, that conduct was the Prime Minister continually making false claims about coalition policies. Standing order 94 includes sanctions against disorderly conduct, of which the Deputy Speaker is well aware. My question, Deputy Speaker, for clarity, is the interaction between standing order 90, about 'highly disorderly' conduct and where the Speaker should intervene when the conduct is 'offensive or disorderly'. I would ask if you would advise me, and through that other members on our side, as to the process in these matters.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (15:47): I, like her, have been in this place for a long time and it is very difficult for the chair to determine what other people consider an untruth from either side of the parliament. The difficulty the chair has is that it is about the perception of the individuals. House of Representatives Practice on page 499 reads:

Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language. Parliamentary language is never more desirable than when a Member is canvassing the opinions and conduct of his opponents in debate.

It is difficult to therefore rule something in or out of order, and I actually have not made any deliberative rulings in the last six weeks I have been in the chair. The Leader of the House wants to speak to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition's point.

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

I note the legitimate point that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition makes regarding imputations that are made against members, but I would ask that perhaps the opposition consider the nature of the questions that are being asked and whether indeed they are absolutely contrary to standing order 90 in that a majority of them end or begin with a personal criticism of the Prime Minister which contains an imputation of an improper motive. That is what their questions do from question 1 to question 10 every single day.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point arises because over the last two days the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated a false accusation against the Leader of the Opposition—

A government member interjecting

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has the call and will be heard in silence.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And on taking this matter up by means of a point of order I have sought to claim that we find it offensive and disorderly that the Prime Minister continues to claim, falsely, that the opposition has a particular policy when patently we do not. It is a falsity that is perpetuated. That leads to the kind of conduct that we see and the argy-bargy between the two sides, which led to an outcome yesterday which is obviously the reason I am raising it today. I would appreciate some indication of whether or not the Prime Minister can continue to falsely claim that the coalition will cut public funding. We have said time and time again that that is false, and yet it has not been seen as disorderly conduct.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume her seat.

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I raise a point of order on the question—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. There is no question. Is the Manager of Opposition Business seeking clarification?

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

Yes. Madam Deputy Speaker, in the interests of trying to be helpful, I remember that Speaker Halverson in fact used to rule that if a personal explanation had been taken on a matter and the assertion continued to be made, that was disorderly, and he ruled it out of order on numerous occasions. I might ask you to direct your attention to Speaker Halverson—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.

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

I am going to make the point, in order to conclude the debate, perhaps, that this is why the Speaker made a ruling that he would not discuss rulings at this point, at the end of question time—so that we do not have these lengthy debates and that if people wanted to raise issues they could raise them with him in his office.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will resume his seat. I will refer everyone to House of Representatives Practice499 to 502 and to the previous parliament, where there were many personal explanations given by the same member of the opposition, and the claims were still continually made.