Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

That is the long, time honoured tradition that I have followed. In the event you are seeking to rule otherwise, when people ask for a personal explanation or something and forget to ask for leave in the first place, they will be sat down and will not be allowed to continue. I personally think that would be a very dangerous precedent not because of the question I am seeking to ask—albeit a very important one—but because of the precedent it will set for every other senator.