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Business of the House

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About this Item
Subjects -  Members of Parliament; Parliament: New South Wales; Pre-selection: New South Wales; Liberal Party:New South Wales
Speakers - Scully Mr Carl; O'Farrell Mr Barry; Speaker
Business - Suspension of Orders, Motion
Commentary - Steven Pringle


    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
Page: 2662


    Address by the Member for Hawkesbury: Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders

    Mr CARL SCULLY (Smithfield—Minister for Police) [2.20 p.m.]: I move:

    That standing and sessional orders be suspended to permit the member for Hawkesbury to address the House forthwith.

    Mr BARRY O'FARRELL (Ku-ring-gai—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [2.21 p.m.]: Notwithstanding a devastating drought affecting rural communities, a Sydney water crisis that even on a wet day sees no recycling, cover-ups in relation to reports into the Cronulla riots and cuts to the highway patrol, once again the Government is prepared to do anything to distract people's attention from the main issues affecting the State. The simple question that needs to be asked is: Why does this matter have to come on now when the honourable member for Hawkesbury could easily raise it during private members' statements at 5.15 p.m. today, when standing orders provide that we can raise issues relating to our electorates? I want to say a couple of things to the honourable member for Hawkesbury.

    Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Hawkesbury will resume his seat. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has the call.

    Mr BARRY O'FARRELL: I do not think any member of a political party in this place has anything but sympathy for the situation in which the honourable member for Hawkesbury finds himself. There are people on this side of the House who certainly worked long and hard to try to ensure that the result did not occur, but I make the point that the Liberal and National parties have a system under which branch members decide who is to be a member of Parliament. We have a system under which there is no automatic right of endorsement, whether one is a party leader or the most junior of backbenchers. We certainly do not have the N40 rule, which is used by the Labor Party to discard the likes of the honourable member for Newcastle, Bryce Gaudry, and impose someone against the wishes of local branch members.

    I make the point that the system that produced the result that the honourable member for Hawkesbury clearly feels concerned about is the same system from which he benefited four years ago. It is the same system that applied to the former member for Hawkesbury, who at that time no doubt shared the emotions the honourable member for Hawkesbury feels today. Given the way the former member for Hawkesbury behaved and the dignity with which he handled the situation that confronted him, I urge the honourable member for Hawkesbury to use him as the role model for whatever he might say today. In anticipation of what the honourable member for Hawkesbury may or may not say in this place I say to him: If he has concerns about the process there are appeals mechanisms within parties. I remind the House that only two weeks ago in another division a preselected result was overturned by State Council as a result of the use of those processes. I would have thought that would have been the first action taken by the honourable member for Hawkesbury.

    Second, if the honourable member for Hawkesbury has wider concerns I remind him that in August the Liberal Party referred certain matters to the Independent Commission against Corruption [ICAC]. The Liberal Party has not yet heard back from ICAC about those matters, but I think the commission ought to be allowed to fully investigate and examine them without any encouragement from this place. In anticipation of what the honourable member for Hawkesbury may say, I also want to say that 72 hours ago both candidates were asked questions by the preselection panel. One question they were asked was whether, if they were unsuccessful, they would run against the Liberal Party. The honourable member for Hawkesbury was clear and firm in his answer. He said he was totally committed to the Liberal Party and would not do such a thing. I certainly hope that in what the honourable member for Hawkesbury is about to say to the House he bears in mind those comments that he made to a room, half of which was filled with people who strongly supported him throughout the preselection process.

    I assume that the present procedure is being followed only because things are going to be said within the parliamentary confines of this Chamber that the honourable member for Hawkesbury may not be prepared to say outside the Chamber. I say that because I remember that when the honourable member for Port Macquarie made a similar move, he did so through television interviews outside the House. He certainly did not seek to interrupt question time or seek to use the House in the way the honourable member for Hawkesbury is doing, with the support of the Government. All I do is simply ask the honourable member for Hawkesbury to exercise the usual caution when using the right that members have in this place under parliamentary privilege.

    Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.

    The House divided.
    Ayes, 58
            Ms Allan
            Mr Amery
            Ms Andrews
            Mr Barr
            Mr Bartlett
            Ms Beamer
            Mr Black
            Mr Brown
            Ms Burney
            Mr Campbell
            Mr Chaytor
            Mr Corrigan
            Mr Crittenden
            Mr Daley
            Mr Debus
            Mr Draper
            Mrs Fardell
            Ms Gadiel
            Mr Gaudry
            Mr Gibson            		Ms Hay
            Mr Hickey
            Mr Hunter
            Mr Iemma
            Ms Judge
            Ms Keneally
            Mr Lynch
            Mr McBride
            Mr McLeay
            Mr McTaggart
            Ms Meagher
            Ms Megarrity
            Mr Mills
            Ms Moore
            Mr Morris
            Mr Newell
            Ms Nori
            Mr Oakeshott
            Mr Orkopoulos
            Mrs Paluzzano             		Mr Pearce
            Mrs Perry
            Mr Price
            Mr Pringle
            Ms Saliba
            Mr Sartor
            Mr Scully
            Mr Shearan
            Mr Stewart
            Ms Tebbutt
            Mr Torbay
            Mr Tripodi
            Mr Watkins
            Mr West
            Mr Whan
            Mr Yeadon

            Tellers,
            Mr Ashton
            Mr Martin

    Noes, 27
            Mr Aplin
            Ms Berejiklian
            Mr Cansdell
            Mr Constance
            Mr Debnam
            Mr Fraser
            Mrs Hancock
            Mr Hartcher
            Mr Hazzard
            Ms Hodgkinson            		Mrs Hopwood
            Mr Humpherson
            Mr Kerr
            Mr Merton
            Mr O'Farrell
            Mr Page
            Mr Piccoli
            Mr Richardson
            Mr Roberts
            Mrs Skinner            		Mr Slack-Smith
            Mr Souris
            Mr Stoner
            Mr Tink
            Mr J. H. Turner


            Tellers,
            Mr George
            Mr Maguire

    Pair
                  Ms D'Amore
                  		Ms Seaton

    Question resolved in the affirmative.

    Motion agreed to.


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