Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the honourable member for Casey do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

It really is a true honour to nominate a most distinguished and respected member of our parliament, the member for Casey, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 45th Parliament of Australia. As members of this House are aware, the member for Casey has given many years of dedicated service to his electorate and this House in a number of different capacities. As my electoral neighbour, I have had the absolute privilege of working closely with the member for Casey and, in doing so, I have seen firsthand the outstanding work that he has done representing the people of Deakin—Casey.

An honourable member: Old habits die hard!

We have had some redistributions! Importantly though, away from his electorate, as the Speaker in the previous parliament, the member for Casey demonstrated that he understands the robust nature of this House, not only respecting its traditions and conventions but also applying a sensible practicality which ensured its smooth operation. As Speaker, we also saw how scrupulously fair and impartial he was in the chair, and that impartiality was most obviously demonstrated to me when the member for Casey in the chair ejected me from the House—the first on the government side—just three days after I nominated him as Speaker the first time around. I really hope there is no repeat of that this week!

In my view, and in the view of many in this House, there is no-one in this parliament who is more qualified or deserving of the speakership than the member for Casey, who I know will bring to the House the experience and the stability that this parliament will require. It is therefore an honour to nominate Tony Smith, the member for Casey, as Speaker.

The Clerk: Is the nomination seconded?

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