Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

Members on both sides will cease interjecting.

Mr Hawke interjecting—

The assistant minister will cease interjecting. The Manager of Opposition Business—I am not seeking to interrupt you but, if I could ask you to resume your seat. I did not see, obviously, all of the events that unfolded, but let me seek to find a remedy, if that is at all possible. My understanding is—and I think the Manager of Opposition Business is probably in the same position as me; I am not sure if he was watching everything that occurred, and I was just in a meeting. My understanding is that the Deputy Speaker asked the member for Sydney not to persistently use props and, in addition, there were members behind using props.

I have addressed this matter many times before. The rules for question time and the use of props are—the practice is very clear, let me say that. It is not allowed under the Practice. I have taken a practical attitude when I see a prop, I ask for it to be removed.

When it comes to speeches, the Practice does make clear that there is more latitude to illustrate a point—there is no doubt about that. For members behind holding up props, that is highly disorderly. Members interjecting outside their seats is highly disorderly—that is very clear in the Practice. It is certainly not part of the standing orders but it is very clear in the practice.

What I would say to the House is that clearly the Deputy Speaker was absolutely seeking to ensure that the debate be conducted in a way where props were not improperly used. For those members sitting behind the member for Sydney holding up props, that was highly disorderly. The reason the Deputy Speaker, ultimately, took the action he did was that, clearly, he could not see a resolution. That is without me having seen everything that has happened.

What I would like to do is just suggest a way forward that is pragmatic, given that the House has important business to conduct, and we could spend a lot of time discussing all of this in an unproductive way. Clearly, if members are asked to resume their seats, they should resume their seats. Warnings are always an important feature of the debate, but what I would suggest is that, in the interests of moving things along, that the member for Sydney just resume her speech. If there is any use of props, this calm demeanour will evaporate very quickly, and I would like to ask the Manager of Opposition Business to—

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