House debates Motions
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; Censure
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training
3:05 pm
Speaker, I seek leave to move that the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship be required to explain to the House the contradiction between his answer to the House today with respect to the convicted Egyptian jihadist terrorist and his letter to the member for Stirling dated 10 May 2013.
Leave not granted.
I move:
That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Sturt from moving the following motion forthwith:
That the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship be required to explain to the House the contradiction between his answer to the House today with respect to the convicted Egyptian jihadist terrorist and his letter to the member for Stirling dated 10 May 2013.
In the House today the minister said that he could advise the House that there had been no assessment in relation to this matter.
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Leader of the House has the call.
Mr Randall interjecting—
Order! The member for Canning certainly is not The Speaker. The Leader of the House has the call.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
3:06 pm
There has been no lead-up whatsoever to this moving of a motion—none whatsoever. They have not prioritised this at all as an issue in question time and then they come in here and move a suspension. So I move—
Mr Pyne interjecting—
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
The Manager of Opposition Business does not have the call. The Leader of the House has the call.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
I move:
That the member be no longer heard.
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
There cannot be a point of order on the motion moved by the Leader of the House.
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
There is not a point of order on the motion. The Leader of the House—
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
No, but, Madam Speaker, it is open to you to refuse to entertain the motion from the Leader of the House, given the seriousness of the matter that is now before the House from the Manager of Opposition Business, and I respectfully—
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. That is not an option open to me. The question is that the member be no longer heard.
Is the motion seconded?
Michael Keenan Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection
3:21 pm
I second the motion. A national security debate should not be gagged. We have a minister who cannot get his story straight. In question time today he said no assessment is proceeding on this.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
Speaker, the government's position is that national security should not also be used to delay time until Malcolm Turnbull gets back for the MPI. That is what is happening here.
Michael Keenan Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have a minister on this matter who cannot get his story straight. He has told one version of events at question time and another in a letter to me on—
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
Order! The member for Stirling will resume his seat.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
3:22 pm
Given the member for Wentworth will be back at 3.28 and able to do his MPI, I move:
That the member be no longer heard.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Ms Anna Burke Speaker
Order! The question is that the member be no longer heard.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.