Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm incredibly proud to move:

That Ms Claydon be elected Deputy Speaker of this House.

Sharon Claydon, the member for Newcastle, is everything anyone could ask for in a parliamentarian. She's also everything anyone could ask for in a colleague and in a friend. At a time when calls for doing politics differently rebound across our country and when restoring the public's trust in democracy and government feels like an urgent first-order priority, the member for Newcastle represents the standard that we should all aspire to. She embodies the qualities that are required not just to preside over but to enhance proceedings in this chamber, and she has the experience, commitment and work ethic to play an important role in ensuring that we bring in the reforms necessary to address the cultural problems that we know exist across this institution.

Sharon Claydon was first elected to represent the people of Newcastle in 2013. Anyone who knows her knows that she has a deep and abiding love for and commitment to service of her community. Importantly, she approaches this service with a lived understanding of the history of her community, a sophisticated approach to the challenges that it faces and an infectious optimism for its future. Perhaps some of this comes from her previous profession as an anthropologist, which is not a profession that springs immediately to mind when you think of a federal parliamentarian but is just one of the things that set Sharon apart from the crowd. I know that much of it comes from being prepared to do the hard work of listening to the voices of people from across the political, social, economic and cultural spectrum, from her commitment to always seek a solution that promotes equality and fairness, from her valuing of the experts and the people with lived experience and from being inevitably the person who puts up her hand to deliver the solution, not just be part of talking about it.

The member for Newcastle has also been a servant of this parliament since the day she was elected. She joined the Speaker's panel in March 2015—I am told that that was the first opportunity for her to do so—and, everyone in this place will agree with me, she has been a respected occupant of the Speaker's chair as part of that panel ever since. I will admit that I was quite surprised to find out today that she doesn't have a completely unblemished record of behaviour in the chamber. Apparently, she was 94(a)'d by Speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes! To be fair to the member for Newcastle, as I understand it, that happened to basically every Labor member of that parliament at least once.

Sharon Claydon has served on more parliamentary committees than most of us have had hot dinners. Wait for this: the joint statutory Standing Committee on Public Works; the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library; the Joint Select Committee on Oversight of the Implementation of Redress Related Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse; the Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme, of which she was also deputy chair; the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards; the House Standing Committee on Appropriations and Administration; the House Standing Committee on Publications; the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, of which she was also the deputy chair, and which I served on with her last term and can personally attest to her prodigious work ethic, her smart and empathetic questioning of witnesses and her respectful and collegiate approach to working with the chair, who showed the same approach, and members of the committee to produce reports with as much bipartisan content as possible; the House Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs, twice; and the House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety. Have I missed any, Sharon? It makes me tired just reading out that list. She is a true parliamentarian and a servant of her community and this parliament.

Sharon Claydon is smart and she is decent. And, because she is genuinely respectful of others and is genuinely great company, she is both liked and respected across the political divide. I am incredibly proud that she asked me to nominate her as the Deputy Speaker, and I ask that the House support that nomination.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to second this motion to nominate the member for Newcastle and to endorse and echo the sentiments of the member for Dunkley. I was fortunate that at the start of the last parliament I got to sit next to the member for Newcastle in the chamber, and given it was the start of my time in parliament, and as a former journalist, I very much took the view that there were no stupid questions when it came to trying to work out what was going on in this place. It's a mark of the member for Newcastle's fundamental decency and patience that she answered all of these questions, and she didn't request a seat transfer—at least as far as I know!

It also became clear how deep her understanding is of the workings of this place, as well as her respect for it as a democratic institution. Her understanding is drawn from her experience in this place as a member, as a member of the Speaker's panel and as deputy chair of numerous parliamentary committees. Her respect encompasses an awareness that this will only be an enduring democratic institution if we as a parliament meet the best of community expectations. I know she will bring this respect to her work from the Speaker's chair. I cannot think of anyone more appropriate to drive the work that's been set out in Kate Jenkins's Set the standard report to improve the culture here and ensure that this is a safer workplace for women, and to make sure that as a parliament we don't miss this moment to set the high standards and to follow through on them. The member for Newcastle has already demonstrated her capability in this regard by driving change within the Labor Party and putting in place standards, policies and procedures that we never had before.

The member for Newcastle is incredibly diligent. Many evenings when others of us here are socialising and debriefing from the day, she's in her office finalising one of those many committee reports or following up on an issue on behalf of people who have asked for her help. She consistently works on behalf of people who have not historically been heard in this place: First Nations people, women, the people whose lives were devastated by institutional violence, to name just a few. Her community know her as a fierce advocate for their interests. She is a trusted colleague and I know she is respected by many in this place. And, when she can be dragged away from her work, the member for Newcastle is excellent company and a lot of fun. Mr Speaker, there could be no finer choice, on character, on capacity, on qualifications and on experience.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there any further proposal?

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, can I congratulate you on your recent elevation. I move:

That Mr Goodenough be elected Deputy Speaker of this House.

The member for Moore has been elected for a fourth term and brings considerable experience to the role, having served as a member of the Speaker's panel for eight years. He has a good knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the standing orders, having been a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure whilst I was chair.

During his service on the Speaker's panel, the member for Moore earned regard from both houses of the parliament for his impartiality. He is quietly spoken yet effective in his role of facilitating the parliamentary proceedings in a very calm and orderly manner. As Speaker Smith once said, debate can be robust but it doesn't have to be loud. I have no hesitation in recommending my good friend the member for Moore for the position of Deputy Speaker.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I congratulate you on your elevation today. When it comes to the member for Moore, he isn't just good enough; he's the best! He is the best, and I am delighted to second the nomination of the member for Moore as Deputy Speaker of this chamber.

The member for Moore is a first-generation migrant, having arrived in Australia at the age of only nine. He made his own way through school, as a trainee accountant; through business; and, finally, as an elected official here in this parliament as the member for Moore, elected now for his fourth term. I share the views of the member for Bonner in saying that he is well respected on both sides of the parliament, and indeed he has been on the Speaker's panel for eight years. I think his record—unlike, as we just found out, that of the other candidate in this race—is unblemished. Actually, I would go one step further: I would go so far as to say the member for Moore is probably the least likely person in this chamber to be booted out.

Can I also share with the House the importance placed by the member for Moore on the procedures and standing orders of this place. Indeed, it was in the member for Moore's maiden speech, his first opening remarks, that he congratulated the then new Speaker and went on to say that he planned to serve on that Speaker's panel, and serve he did. I think it would be a great honour for him to be the Deputy Speaker, a role he would do a wonderful job at.

Can I reflect also on the Prime Minister's expressed desire for a more gentle, kinder, more courteous parliament and say that now we have our chance. Now we have our chance in the member for Moore, somebody who lives and breathes those virtues when he's in the chair and outside. I would love to think that at the start of this parliament, as a great mark of unity, we could all swing in behind the candidacy of the member for Moore and give the Speaker a deputy, the House a deputy, and show the nation what a true gentle, quietly spoken Deputy Speaker—yet a lion in defence of the standing orders—is all about, and that resides in the member for Moore. I commend him to you—not just to those on the other side but also to those behind me and those who are new to the House. The member for Moore is not just good enough; he's the best!

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for proposals has expired. In accordance with standing order 11, the bells will ring and a ballot will be taken.

The bells having been rung and a ballot having been taken—

The result of the ballot is: 85 votes, Sharon Claydon; 57 votes, Ian Goodenough. Sharon Claydon is elected Deputy Speaker, and Ian Goodenough shall be the Second Deputy Speaker.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the Deputy Speaker, the member for Newcastle, on her election and the Second Deputy Speaker, the member for Moore, on his election to such high office.

The member for Newcastle has been a mate of mine for a very long period of time. The member for Newcastle is an outstanding local member, who has presided over a local community that has gone through a really difficult transition. When the community saw the BHP steelworks close, there was a view from some that somehow this would be a region in decline. The opposite has, of course, occurred. It is a cosmopolitan, vibrant community with a really diverse economy that's continuing to grow, and there are enormous opportunities for it.

The port of Newcastle, which I visited with the member just last year, is the heartland of the economy in the Hunter Valley. It is a very large port with extraordinary opportunity to grow in the future, as we see new industries growing there as well. There's also incredible opportunity for that region to take advantage of the government's commitment to build things here, to advance manufacturing. I've seen coal trains, for example, that had to be redone with the member for Newcastle because they weren't fit for purpose. We should be making those things there in Newcastle, and that's something that I'm sure the member for Newcastle will be working on.

She's someone who has had an extensive period of commitment to committee processes, but, in particular, I want to single out the work that the member for Newcastle has done both within the Labor party and, importantly, within the parliament about gender equity and making the parliament a safer place. In the last parliament, issues were raised that needed to be dealt with. The member for Newcastle was diligent, committed and principled. She was someone who engaged right across the parliament to make sure that out of those processes we had unanimous recommendations in this parliament that were then adopted and that need to be implemented. It's an example of the sort of work that Sharon Claydon is noted for in her local community but also respected for in this place. I congratulate the member for Newcastle, who is a very worthy Deputy Speaker indeed.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the Prime Minister in his words of congratulations to the member for Newcastle, who comes to this parliament with a breadth of experience in a number of industries. She has been a really passionate local—a fifth-generation local—and believes very much in her people. In the trials and tribulations that they've been through, which the Prime Minister made reference to, she has been there providing support and leadership to them. Those qualities will serve her well in this role, and on behalf of the opposition I wish her all the very best.

Of course it would've been a much better outcome had my good friend the member for Moore been elected and prevailed in this ballot, but that was not to be the case. It's hard to imagine a more decent or honourable person than the member for Moore. He is a first-generation migrant to our country—he came here as a nine-year-old in 1984. He has an incredible story, he has a small business background, he has a great deal of passion for his electorate and he is widely respected in Western Australia. I'm very proud to call him a friend. He will make a fine contribution, as we've already seen when he has occupied this chair. He has a very soft and quiet demeanour but is an incredibly decent person, as I say, and brings not just a calmness but a command to the time that he occupies the chair. We wish both the Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker all the very best in their respective roles.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to join in with the remarks of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in congratulating the member for Newcastle and the member for Moore on their election. I see the member for Newcastle whenever I come to parliament and whenever I go to a music festival. The member for Newcastle represents not only what has become a cosmopolitan and wonderful electorate, but also the home of the Screaming Jets. The member for Moore is liked around the chamber and respected. I wish him well in the role.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank the outgoing Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker. The outgoing Second Deputy Speaker, the member for McEwen, held that role for a long time. He is very well regarded and respected. Similarly, the member for Wide Bay—who I can say I supported in the role because I nominated him in that one as well—served well in the role.

I think when you look at the issues that are going to have to be dealt with, in particular the response to the Set the standard report, the member for Newcastle in particular is going to be able to play an extremely important role on behalf of the parliament.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the House in extending congratulations to the newly elected Deputy Speaker and to the Second Deputy Speaker. The member for Newcastle, of course, has been here since 2013, so has significant parliamentary experience. She has been on the Speaker's panel since 2015 and has a strong, demonstrated interest in parliamentary issues. She is certainly very well respected on this side of the chamber for her proven practice of being very diligent in her committee work, and I'm sure she'll bring that same approach to her work as Deputy Speaker.

To the Second Deputy Speaker: congratulations on your appointment. I know that the member for Moore will do a tremendous job, again drawing on extensive experience: eight years on the Speaker's panel, member of the parliament since 2013, successful business career before coming into the parliament, an immigrant to Australia from Singapore, a passionate Liberal and a passionate Western Australian. All of those are perspectives that he will bring to this role. These are important roles in supporting the operation of the chamber and the operation of this parliament.

I also want to acknowledge the service of the member for Wide Bay, as the former Deputy Speaker, and the member for McEwen, as the former Second Deputy Speaker, and, on behalf of the opposition, join with the Leader of the Opposition in congratulating both the newly elected Deputy Speaker and the newly elected Second Deputy Speaker.