Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

As the Leader of the House, I join my colleagues in congratulating the member for Parkes and the member for McEwen on their selection as the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker. Obviously they are both very important roles, especially in a parliament where the numbers are much closer than in the previous parliament. I am pleased to see that the Labor Party has agreed to join the Speaker's panel as well, in order to have some of their members find out what it is like to be in the chair and be able to take part in those proceedings. It is a very important role, and I do look forward to the member for Parkes being in that role. He deserves to be the Deputy Speaker, and to follow in the footsteps of the member for Maranoa, with his experience of the House. The member for McEwen acquitted himself well in the Second Deputy Speaker role in the last parliament, and I am sure he will continue to do so into the future.

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