Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Best Speaker of his generation?
I cannot recall a better one.
So who would be a good replacement?
Constitutionally The Speaker is supposed to "act independently and exercise authority impartially" Smith came as close to that as anyone in recent times. As distinct from Bronwyn Bishop who was a blatant political fraud in that role. As a minister too, come to think of it.
You make a good point. Both The Speaker and President of the Senate as the Parliament's Presiding Officers were found wanting on that matter. It rightly reflects very poorly on both of them when viewing their full roles.for all those banging on about how great smith was as speaker .... lets not forget this uncomfortable truth
both smith and ryan have questions to answer .... stop cuddling up to these criminal lnp a#$hats and do your friggen job australian mediaWhat Speaker knew about rape claims
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate have joined the long list of people privy to allegations of “an incident” in the nation’s Parliament two years ago that Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins claims was rape.www.news.com.au
Bravo, well said!Nobody should laud the speaker of the Parliament when that Parliament shat all over democracy in a 100 different ways.
Smith was no more than an LNP shill who 999 times out of 1000 shilled for the LNP.
That he 1 time out of 1000 didn't shill for the LNP isn't cause for celebration.
I would be in line with your politics on most matters but not here. I'm in line with the notes to the relevant section of The Constitution prepared by Prof Saunders where she said:Nobody should laud the speaker of the Parliament when that Parliament shat all over democracy in a 100 different ways.
Smith was no more than an LNP shill who 999 times out of 1000 shilled for the LNP.
That he 1 time out of 1000 didn't shill for the LNP isn't cause for celebration.
I would be in line with your politics on most matters but not here. I'm in line with the notes to the relevant section of The Constitution prepared by Prof Saunders where she said:
"The Speaker usually is a member of the government party and is elected to the office of Speaker with the support of that party. Independence is difficult in these circumstances and varies between different Speakers over time"
Smith has been one of the more even-handed ones when it comes to handling contentious issues. He's sat Pyne and Dutton on their tales many a time.
Perhaps if the Coalition elects the oxygen thief Kevin Andrews as Speaker as some sort of parting gift you'll see any form of even-handedness vanish and wish Smith had hung in there.
The role is of The Speaker is fundamentally to moderate the behaviour of MPs and ensure the Standing Orders are followed. He/She can do very little if the numbers allow a party to trample on fairness and take restrictive actions such as terminating Question Time, members speaking time, crashing through legislation, reducing the hours' et al. Providing they are within the Standing Orders.Do you think the LNP have trashed our democracy with some of their antics in the House?
If the answer is yes then does the speaker hold any responsibility for that?
Andrews would be Bishop revisited. He's the dirtbag who trampled on the rights of a duly elected government when he successfully went about overthrowing the NT legislation on Voluntary Euthanasia. Another rightist religious zealot in The Speakers chair would be just another reason to kick out this rotten to the core government.Absolute horror of a Speaker. Will forever be known as the speaker who allowed the Government to silence accountability.
The replacement? Kevin Andrews.
The role is of The Speaker is fundamentally to moderate the behaviour of MPs and ensure the Standing Orders are followed. He/She can do very little if the numbers allow a party to trample on fairness and take restrictive actions such as terminating Question Time, members speaking time, crashing through legislation, reducing the hours' et al. Providing they are within the Standing Orders.
I'm not saying Smith was flawless by any means, merely that comparatively speaking he was an improvement on most and there is no comparison with Bishop who took the role into the sewer, letting the government trample all over parliamentary norms. Her blatant bias was beyond belief. The following is her record of expelling MPs.
Think Smith is the only Speaker to absent himself from Party Room meetings too. Certainly in recent times.
Didn't hear what Burke said, and I wouldn't take a great deal of notice of him relating to Standing Orders anyway. I repeat, IMO Smith was better than most, that doesn't mean flawless.In the last sitting week Tony Burke quoted how 'the member no longer be heard' rule was intended to apply.
As Speaker, Smith could have called bullshit at any time in the 100 times that the LNP have used that rule to silence debate.
Didn't hear what Burke said, and I wouldn't take a great deal of notice of him relating to Standing Orders anyway. I repeat, IMO Smith was better than most, that doesn't mean flawless.
I have it on good authority that his premature departure was due to Potato Head and his rightists causing him so much discomfort he took the line of least resistance and resigned. Apparently, they weren't satisfied that he'd toed the party line Bronny-style.
You keep repeating the same question while ignoring my comments. As I've said, you've based the number solely on what you say Burke claimed and I've told you he's well down my list of reliable pollies. In fact, I think he's one of the poorer Managers of Opposition Business.In what other parliamentary term has the motion 'the member no longer be heard' been used 100 times?
You keep repeating the same question while ignoring my comments. As I've said, you've based the number solely on what you say Burke claimed and I've told you he's well down my list of reliable pollies. In fact, I think he's one of the poorer Managers of Opposition Business.
And you just overlook Smith's plusses such as him absenting himself from the Liberal party room, the number of times Bishop evicted Labor MPs compared to her peeps, and the Liberals themselves being displeased with him causing him sufficient discomfort to leave the position. I'll add another you can pass over which is Bishop had the rare "privilege" of having Labor introduce two No Confidence motions in her Speakership. Smith had none.
Once again I say, he wasn't flawless just comparatively better than most and light-years ahead of the divisive extreme bias of Bishop.
The discussion has become circular. You see it differently. So be it.
for all those banging on about how great smith was as speaker .... lets not forget this uncomfortable truth
both smith and ryan have questions to answer .... stop cuddling up to these criminal lnp a#$hats and do your friggen job australian mediaWhat Speaker knew about rape claims
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate have joined the long list of people privy to allegations of “an incident” in the nation’s Parliament two years ago that Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins claims was rape.www.news.com.au