Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for his guidance. The crucial point of our dissent motion against your ruling is that this motion is out of order. It is out of order because it is a breach of privilege. Mr Deputy Speaker, you ruled it in order. For that reason we have dissented from your ruling. We are entitled to do so. This is a democracy—although in the last few months we might have been foolish for not believing that perhaps some of our democratic traditions have been thrown out the window by this government. We apparently were not allowed to ask them questions. How dare we ask them questions about their scrutiny of and accountability for their failed financial package! And yet today we see that the manager of government business in the House has come in and moved a frivolous, foolish and trivial motion. He has reduced the House to a ‘ragtime show’, the Australian reported today.

A ragtime show is on display from both the manager of government business in the House, who thinks he is so clever, and this government, which thinks it is so clever. They have moved a motion which is out of order and which is a breach of privilege. And I can tell you one thing: we on this side of the House will not stand by and tolerate an attack on the freedom of speech of any member of parliament in this place. We will stand up for the right of freedom of speech even for a member of the government. Even the member for Fowler and the member for Petrie have been attacking the government’s education revolution this week. We are not going to try to close them down, unlike the government. The member for Fowler will be next, I suppose. The manager of government business will probably move a gag on the member for Fowler the next time she tries to speak. But the other thing is that—

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