Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Macquarie from moving the following motion immediately—

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the Member for Bowman continues to defend actions like stalking and abusing his own constituents online, and the Prime Minister has failed to take appropriate action;

(b) the Member for Bowman stated on March 27 he would "step down from all parliamentary roles effective immediately", but has failed to relinquished his chairmanship of the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training which gives him extra salary;

(c) coalition members have now voted nine times to keep the Member for Bowman as Chair of the committee, including the coalition members of that committee, the Members for;

  (i) Moncrieff

  (ii) Groom

  (iii) Curtin

  (iv) New England; and

  (v) Longman; and

(d) by voting to keep the Member for Bowman as Chair of the committee, the Prime Minister and everyone who sits behind him in this House is endorsing the Member for Bowman's behaviour; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to discharge the Member for Bowman from the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training immediately.

How dare this man think he has the right to sit in this chamber and chair this committee with decent members of parliament who respect their constituents? This member does not deserve to have a place here.

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

The member will resume her seat. There is a procedural element I would like to check about this in terms of the decorum of the House. I'm just considering some of the language of the motion. I'll hear from the Deputy Leader of the House. It's very predictable what you're about to do. I will let you have the call, because the motion is not yet seconded.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Member be no longer heard.

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

The question is that the member be no longer heard.

Just before I call for a seconder, while I have everyone's attention I just want to caution members in the conduct of the debate that it's highly disorderly to accuse a member of the House of criminality and to watch their language, because I will come down very hard indeed. As it happens, this motion doesn't do that, but there certainly have been instances I have heard in the 90-second statements and elsewhere that have been out of order. I should also mention that it is a matter I have discussed with the Deputy Speaker as we've watched the conduct of debate. I hope that benefits the seconder. I call the member for Cooper.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. The Prime Minister pretends that he cares about the safety of women and yet he allows Laming to stay on an important committee—

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the member be no longer heard.

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

The question is that the member be no further heard.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the question be now put.

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

The question is that the question be now put.

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

The question now is that the motion moved by the member for Macquarie be disagreed to. There being more than one voice calling for a division, in accordance with standing order 133 the division is deferred until after the discussion on the matter of public importance.

Debate adjourned.