Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

On the point of order and the handling of points of order, this is a seemingly new practice—to rule before a senator has even had a chance to put their case. On Senator Thorpe's first point of order, she had no more than got the word 'relevance' out of her mouth than you ruled against her, without hearing the basis upon which she was claiming relevance. I would, President, invite you to reflect upon that, in terms of your handling the points of order. I understand it where they are repetitious or take approaches that are disorderly in the chamber. But in this case, I think a first point of order from a senator on a question deserves the opportunity for that senator to have the chance to make their point.