House debates Personal Explanations

Wednesday, 20 October 2010 House of Representatives

Paul Fletcher

Paul Fletcher Bradfield, Liberal Party

3:30 pm

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Harry Jenkins

Harry Jenkins Speaker

Does the member claim to have been misrepresented?

Paul Fletcher

Paul Fletcher Bradfield, Liberal Party

Yes.

Paul Fletcher

Paul Fletcher Bradfield, Liberal Party

The Prime Minister sought to engage in selective quotation from my book to imply that I support Labor’s policy. I am firmly opposed to Labor’s policy to waste $43 billion—

Harry Jenkins

Harry Jenkins Speaker

The member will resume his seat. The member has explained where he has been misrepresented and he cannot further debate.

Joe Hockey

Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. Before I heard you say that the member just then had made his point, the microphone was switched off on the member for Bradfield when the Leader of the House stood at the dispatch box.

Harry Jenkins

Harry Jenkins Speaker

I will worry about other things as well, but I say to the member for North Sydney that if I had intervened it would be switched off. It is not the policy. The Leader of the House jumps a lot of times but I do not think has got any control over the microphones.

Christopher Pyne

Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training

Mr Speaker, on a point of order, during the member for North Sydney’s point of order the Minister for Resources and Energy made an extremely unparliamentary remark and I ask you to ask him to withdraw it.

Harry Jenkins

Harry Jenkins Speaker

In the hubbub I did not hear it. I will ask the Minister for Resources and Energy to withdraw to assist the House.

Martin Ferguson

Martin Ferguson Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy

I withdraw, Mr Speaker.