James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most definitely.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please proceed.

James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning in an interview at the doors of Parliament House, I misspoke. Later in the same interview I clearly stated, ‘I am not saying the Prime Minister is indiscreet at all, absolutely not.’

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please proceed.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the Leader of the House suggested that I was entirely wrong in claiming that previously there had been no precedent to move a motion to close down the Leader of the Opposition’s MPI. The Leader of the House went on to cite a large number of examples. The explanation from me—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member must indicate where he has been misrepresented.

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There is no personal explanation here; this is simply a debate and an argument. There is no suggestion that the member for North Sydney has been misrepresented. He just has a different point of view.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will listen very carefully. The member for North Sydney knows that he must show where he has been misrepresented and that he should not debate the question. Order! I will listen very carefully.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The 26 June 1996 motion moved against the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Beazley, by Mr Reith calling on government business followed a substantive motion moved by Mr Beazley during question time at 2.42 pm. The 24 March 1998—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Minister for Finance and Deregulation will resume his seat. The member for North Sydney cannot go through the whole list and debate each one. He would have to establish how, in those cases, he has been misrepresented. He can only make a general statement about the personal explanation that the Leader of the House made.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Further to that point of order, the chair yesterday allowed the Leader of the House to go through extensively all of the occasions where the Leader of the House alleged that I had given the wrong advice to the House. If the Leader of the House was entitled to extensively go through the list then surely I am entitled to respond to each and every one of those allegations.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that there are other procedures of the House that could be used to do that.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Truss interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will not give advisory rulings and the Leader of the National Party has been here long enough to know that he cannot by interjection suggest or ask questions like that.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I do.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please proceed.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the Leader of the House stated that I had misled the House and he cited 13 occasions where I had done so implicitly by stating that the Leader of the Opposition was gagged and disallowed an opportunity to discuss a matter of public importance. The detail provided by the Leader of the House was wrong. Of the 13 occasions listed by the Leader of the House—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Minister for Finance and Deregulation will resume his seat. The member for North Sydney will complete this aspect and then we will get on with the business.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of the 13 occasions listed by the Leader of the House where a matter of public importance did not take place, a substantive motion—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister will resume his seat. The member for North Sydney will complete the sentence.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

had preceded it along with up to two hours of debate on the said motions.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You’re wrong, Albo, admit it.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fadden will leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a).

The member for Fadden then left the chamber

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to table the records.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is not granted.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must say I was wrong; it was 15 occasions, not 13, Mr Speaker.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will go to the presentation of papers.