Member Named
Page: 6824
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I name the honourable member for Coffs Harbour for persistently and wilfully disregarding the authority of the Chair.
Mr WHELAN (Strathfield—Parliamentary Secretary) [2.52 p.m.]: I move:
That the honourable member for Coffs Harbour be suspended from the service of the House.
Mr FRASER (Coffs Harbour) [2.52 p.m.]: What we have seen in this House is the most disgraceful display of bias from you, Mr Speaker, and from the Government. The Hon. Eddie Obeid is under severe attack and is currently undergoing an ICAC investigation for 197 breaches of his pecuniary interests register, which he has altered on a number of occasions, yet we still do not know whether he has given the House the truth.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I place the honourable member for Bathurst to two calls to order.
Mr FRASER: Today the Leader of the Opposition has been impugned by the Minister for Energy and the Minister for Planning—the loony Left of the Labor Party, who want to get into the gutter to try to defend Eddie Obeid, who is well known as the bagman for the Labor Party. He asked for a $1 million pay-out on behalf of the ALP. Ministers of the Government have attended meeting after meeting after meeting in order to try to rake $1 million out of the Canterbury Leagues Club over the Oasis development.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Londonderry to order.
Mr FRASER: The Government has moved a substantive motion to attack the Leader of the Opposition over his pecuniary interests returns, which were voluntarily altered by him some two years ago. He has complied with the resolution of this House, forced through by the Government yesterday, to provide the documentation. The Minister for Planning, in his grubby, substantive motion, has misled the House and claimed that there was information in the document that said the Leader of the Opposition was taking money for questions. That is a lie. The document is there for all to see. Government members may not like it, but they are liars. They are trying to defend the indefensible. I challenge the Leader of the House, the Premier and the Government to sit the House for the full sittings days that we are entitled to, up until December. Let's see what the ICAC drags out on the Government, Eddie Obeid and the other Ministers who were, and are, involved 100 per cent, as appears in the media on a daily basis.
We will talk about the Minister for a Public Works and Services, the Minister for Agriculture, the Minister for Health, the Premier and the Minister for Energy. They were all in on the $1 million grab. The Treasurer has $900 million in his election account but he needed another $1 million to throw into the marginal seats. They are grubby and the ICAC will prove it. The ICAC will see that this Government is tainted. On 22 March, whether or not we come back into this House prior to the election, the people of New South Wales will know and understand what a lot of crooks they are. They are crooked. Even with the resources of government they have to go out and money-rake. That is an absolute disgrace.
This House has absolutely no credence. Today I took a legitimate point of order under Standing Order 82 stating that the Leader of the Opposition had been impugned, yet you, Mr Speaker, said there was no point of order. As soon as I interjected I was placed on one call to order. You then put me on three calls to order. I was then asked to leave the House. Even though this House is being ruled as a Star Chamber and even though the Government has the absolute majority, it still will not allow individual members the freedom to speak. Mr Speaker, your job is one of independence. You have never displayed that and you never will. Have a look at your own decision and how stupid you make this House and this Parliament appear by throwing the standing orders of this Chamber into the trash bin. You have no regard for the individual rights of members. This Government is gone come 22 March.
Question—That the honourable member for Coffs Harbour be suspended from the service of the House—put.
The House divided.
Ayes, 53
Ms Allan
Mr Amery
Ms Andrews
Mr Aquilina
Mr Ashton
Mr Bartlett
Ms Beamer
Mr Black
Mr Brown
Miss Burton
Mr Campbell
Mr Carr
Mr Collier
Mr Crittenden
Mr Debus
Mr Face
Mr Gaudry
Mr Gibson | Mr Greene
Mrs Grusovin
Ms Harrison
Mr Hickey
Mr Hunter
Mr Iemma
Mr Knowles
Mrs Lo Po'
Mr Lynch
Mr Markham
Mr Martin
Mr McManus
Ms Meagher
Ms Megarrity
Mr Mills
Mr Moss
Mr Newell
Ms Nori | Mr Orkopoulos
Mr E. T. Page
Mrs Perry
Mr Price
Dr Refshauge
Ms Saliba
Mr Scully
Mr W. D. Smith
Mr Stewart
Mr Tripodi
Mr Watkins
Mr West
Mr Whelan
Mr Woods
Mr Yeadon
Tellers,
Mr Anderson
Mr Thompson |
Noes, 33
Mr Armstrong
Mr Brogden
Mrs Chikarovski
Mr Collins
Mr Cull
Mr Debnam
Mr George
Mr Glachan
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard
Ms Hodgkinson
Mrs Hopwood | Mr Humpherson
Dr Kernohan
Mr Kerr
Mr Maguire
Mr Merton
Mr O'Farrell
Mr D. L. Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Richardson
Mr Rozzoli
Ms Seaton
Mrs Skinner | Mr Slack-Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Stoner
Mr Tink
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Mr Webb
Tellers,
Mr Fraser
Mr R. H. L. Smith |
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Motion agreed to.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! This being the first occasion during the session upon which the honourable member for Coffs Harbour has been suspended, his suspension will be for two sitting days.
[The honourable member for Coffs Harbour left the Chamber, accompanied by the Serjeant-at-Arms.]