Page 2004 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 7 June 2017
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only be described as the theatre of question time, as the opposition so frequently seeks to make it. It is a difficult call and I think that a more suitable pathway on this matter would have been to have a discussion later.
We all know that there is an extensive history of the withdrawal of certain words in this chamber. If one looks at the little book that sits in the first drawer of the Speaker’s desk, one can see that over the past 26 or 27 years of self-government a range of words have been withdrawn and permitted at different times, often in different contexts. I am not sure that this is a reasonable way to proceed today, and we will not be supporting the motion.
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (3.38): I will be supporting Mrs Dunne’s motion because it is quite clear that your rulings are grossly inconsistent. I used the term “dodgy” in relation to a deal. You ruled that unparliamentary even though I think it is questionable: if you are talking about an inanimate thing or something not representing individuals in this place, there is a question as to whether that is unparliamentary. Regardless of that, I did so, and you used your discretion. Mrs Dunne pursued that. That position was then put forward.
Mr Rattenbury then, in speaking, described me and my colleagues as grubby. That is clearly unparliamentary. I am going to go now to about seven examples where, in this place, that has been found to be unparliamentary, including statements from you, from Mr Rattenbury and from Mr Barr.
It is just hypocritical that you would on the one hand describe what we say as unparliamentary, even though it did not refer to anybody in this place, but at the same time excuse Mr Rattenbury from his quite unparliamentary language directed at members of the opposition. I will just go to one example. This is Mr Rattenbury in Hansard of 2013. Mr Rattenbury said:
No, it’s just that you’re grubby.
He is a repeat offender. I then asked that he withdraw. Madam Speaker said:
Sit down. Mr Rattenbury, you will withdraw the word “grubby”.
Mr Rattenbury said:
I withdraw the reference to Mr Hanson being grubby, as I understand it is unparliamentary, if not accurate.
So you have Mr Rattenbury, a former Speaker in this place, withdrawing, acknowledging that his statement was unparliamentary.
In another example, in 2015, I said:
It’s a grubby government.
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