Page 4461 - Week 14 - Thursday, 28 November 2013
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members’ attention to House of Representatives Practice edition No 6, page 514, where it says:
A Member is not allowed to use unparliamentary words by the device of putting them in someone else’s mouth or in the course of a quotation.
I think that we have had this part of our standing orders referred to on a number of occasions. I know that Madam Deputy Speaker has done this recently. I would encourage members to keep that in mind when they are thinking of being disorderly. There is no means around it.
ACTTAB Ltd—motion
MADAM SPEAKER: On another matter, I would like to make a statement in relation to the motion that is on the notice paper and that was given notice of on 26 November by Mr Barr about the disposal of ACTTAB. Before I make the statement, I want to thank the Treasurer for his openness to the suggestions that I made this morning about this. I have had a couple of discussions with the Treasurer, and I was very mindful of not interposing myself in the policy debate.
After consultation and after considering the implications of the Territory-owned Corporations Act, the Legislation Act, the standing orders, House of Representatives Practice and the Companion to the Standing Orders of the ACT Legislative Assembly, I had proposed to rule out of order Mr Barr’s motion as it stands on the notice paper. I gave the warning to Mr Barr that I would have to do this, and there has been some discussion, I think, so that we have got an appropriate motion that does not offend the standing orders.
To set the record straight, I want to explain to members why I considered that the motion as it was originally given notice of was out of order. I saw it was problematic in a number of ways. Paragraph 2 seemed to seek to amend legislation by way of motion in the Legislative Assembly. Paragraph 3 was ambiguous about the constitution of ACTTAB. Several elements of constitutions under the Territory-owned Corporations Act are set out in that act, and it was unclear whether this motion would attempt to amend those provisions without reference back to the Assembly.
There are clear measures for amending legislation. Chapter 5 of the standing orders, chapter 11 of the Companion and chapter 9 of the Legislation Act all apply in this area. But there is no simple and straightforward statement anywhere in those places that says that acts of this Assembly are amended by no other means except by another act of this Assembly. It is probably because it is such an obvious point. But I thought that it was worth making in the context of the discussion that we had here today and so that it is put on the record and we never get into this space again.
I also refer members to page 318 of the 6th edition of House of Representatives Practice about the effect of motions where it says:
The House has the power, within constitutional limits, to make a determination on any question it wishes to raise, to make any order, or to agree to any resolution. In the conduct of its own affairs the House is responsible only to
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