Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister: is the Prime Minister aware that the West Australian Liberal Premier has confirmed that the Liberal Party is preferencing One Nation at the forthcoming Western Australian state election? Will the Prime Minister advise the Premier of Western Australia to put One Nation last in every seat?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I call the Prime Minister, I have listened carefully to the Leader of the Opposition's question.

Honourable members interjecting—

Members on both sides will cease interjecting. As the Practice makes clear, questions that go beyond the responsibilities of ministers are out of order. Page 554 of the Practice

Opposition members interjecting—

Members of my left and the member for Griffith—already, we are not even at a minute or so in! I am going to explain my position to the House. Page 554 of the Practice makes it very clear that ministers can only be questioned on matters for which they are responsible. No minister is responsible for the subject matter of the question, that being the Premier of Western Australia or the state party referred to in Western Australia. I am going to give the Manager of Opposition Business the call on a point of order.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I simply ask you to reflect on a precedent that was set on 31 October 2000. If you hear the words in the question that then opposition leader Kim Beazley asked then Prime Minister John Howard, it is almost identical to what has just been put. The question was:

My question is to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that Western Australian Liberal Premier Richard Court has left open the possibility of the Liberal Party preferencing One Nation at the forthcoming Western Australian state election? Will the Prime Minister advise Premier Court to adopt the same position that the Prime Minister reluctantly adopted at the 1998 federal election—namely, to put One Nation last in every seat?

The question is almost identical—

Government members interjecting—

That is true, the Premier's name is not Richard Court anymore! Other than that, if it was good enough for John Howard to answer, this Prime Minister should answer it as well.

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left and right, I am going to address this matter very quickly. Whilst the Manager of Opposition Business has obviously done some detailed research on the history of Hansard, the Practice is very clear and I am going to make a couple of points. Whilst that question was clearly allowed and in that case the Prime Minister obviously wish to answer it, as I can tell is probably the case today, I have ruled on this matter—

Opposition members interjecting—

Members on my left, I have ruled on this matter in some detail and reflected on it since the beginning of this parliament. Within a couple of weeks of the beginning of this parliament, the member for Solomon asked a question to the Prime Minister that I deemed out of order on the basis that it was about the Chief Minister in the Northern Territory and a donation from Gina Rinehart, from memory. I made it very clear that it did not go to the Prime Minister's responsibilities and—notwithstanding the fact he wished to answer it on that occasion—I made it clear, as far as I was concerned as Speaker, we could not allow questions out of order to be asked. I am maintaining that ruling.