John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

In a way this is related to Senator Fifield’s point of order. In question time today, on at least two occasions—and I did not quite hear whether there was a third—I believe senators intended to take points of order but did not identify the fact that they were taking points of order. What has been happening, with due respect, Mr President, is that the call has been offered to senators in those circumstances. I do not think the call should be provided to a senator who just gets to their feet and starts speaking without identifying the fact that they are taking a point of order. Respectfully, I would suggest—not in the case of Senator Fifield, who certainly did not do that—that it must be extremely difficult for the timekeeper to know what on earth is happening in those circumstances, where a senator is given the call when they do not even identify the fact that they are taking a point of order. I think them being given the call by the President, or by whomever is presiding at the time, is questionable in those circumstances. Anyway, I just respectfully suggest you give consideration to that.