Sunday 31 May 2009

And the Speaker of the House went like... Ck Ck Boom


With the Federal Opposition benches doing their level best to disrupt House of Representatives sitting days last week, one sometimes feels sorry for The Speaker Harry Jenkins and the obvious wear and tear his tonsils endure as those on his left act like hyperactive jacks-in-the-box.

However, The Speaker does eventually hold the upper hand when faced with the usual suspects and is not averse to showing them the door.

What a pity that MPs Abbott, Baldwin, Bishop, Dutton, Haase, Hockey, Pyne, Randall, Robert, Turnbull and Tuckey feel that wasting time on childish tantrums is a legitimate part of their job descriptions.

Their combined behaviour is now so tiresome that I feel like breaking out the popcorn whenever I hear the echo of a ck ck boom from the Chair.

Excerpts from Open Australia Hansard records:

(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for Cook will resume his seat.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: I understand. The member for Paterson will resume his seat.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Treasurer will relate his response to the question and he will refer to members by their titles.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The member for Blair has the call.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for Canning will resume his seat.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. I think I created some confusion—I am not sure how. Before greeting our distinguished visitor, I was going to ask the Prime Minister whether he had concluded his answer. The Prime Minister, I think, had anticipated your point of order and had sat down. I call the Prime Minister.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Sturt will resume his seat. Now hop up and do your stunt. I am ruling it out of order—
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Sturt will resume his seat. I thank him for supporting my case.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Dickson is warned!
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The Leader of the Opposition is warned.
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Fadden is warned!
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Fadden will leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a).
(28 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The honourable member for Fadden is suspended from the service of the House for 24 hours.
(27 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Canning will resume his seat. While I do not adjudicate on personal explanations, I am not sure whether it was the member for Canning or the member for La Trobe who was at greater distress over that article.
(27 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Warringah will resume his seat. I say to the member for Warringah that I am not dissuaded by his argument from my actions, but I indicate to the member for Sturt that it is a really surprising set of behaviours, to come into the chamber and within five minutes think that he can prattle on without having the call. Like with the display of posters and other things, it is in the...
(27 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Treasurer is responding to the question.
(27 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Canning is warned!
(27 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for O'Connor will leave the chamber under 94(a) for one hour. The member for O'Connor then left the chamber.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for O'Connor will resume his seat. Having been given an A for his first effort, that was nearly a fail, but he has made his point.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for Dickson will resume his seat.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Treasurer will respond to the question.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The member for Mackellar will resume her seat.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: So you are not interested in a response to your point of order. There is no point of order and the honourable member for Sturt knows it quite well.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for Sturt is warned. Member for Oxley, there is no need for any encouragement.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The honourable member for Sturt is suspended from the service of the House for 24 hours under standing order 94(b). The member for Sturt then left the chamber.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: I call the member for North Sydney to order. The member for Dickson will leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a). The Treasurer will respond to the question. The member for Dickson then left the chamber.
(26 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: Order! The member for Paterson may leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a). The member for Paterson then left the chamber.
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Cowper will resume his seat. I have indicated that the Deputy Prime Minister is responding to the question.
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Sturt will resume his seat—and he is warned, not because he raised a point of order but for the way in which he handled himself at the dispatch box. That was not my recollection of the question. The member has indicated that he was trying to change the question to make it in order.
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Dickson will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The question is related to gross debt. The Prime Minister, as I have said, knows of the requirement to make his response relevant to the question.
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: I name the member for Kalgoorlie!
(25 May 2009) Harry Jenkins: The member for Kalgoorlie is suspended from the service of the House for 24 hours. The member for Kalgoorlie then left the chamber.

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