Speaker gives miscreants a serve

SPEAKER Sue Hickey has laid down the law to unruly MPs in the Tasmanian Parliament.

Ms Hickey declared she had had a “gutful” of rowdy behaviour in Parliament and started yesterday’s proceedings by announcing a crackdown.

It followed two days of rowdy behaviour from MPs, including a stoush between the speaker and Labor MP Michelle O’Byrne, who was unhappy with her conduct being described as “unladylike”.

At the beginning of Question Time, Ms Hickey told members yelling and aggressive behaviour was unparliamentary and would not be tolerated in any workplace.

“I have news for you, it won’t be tolerated in here either. I consider it a form of bullying,” she said.

“From this day forward I remind you all that as members of the community and as role models for our young visitors to Parliament, we will argue the facts of the debate before us as professional politicians.”

She said transgressors would be given three warnings and then would be ejected from the chamber.

“The public expects us to get on with the serious job of governing and not to resort to insults and petty political arguments.

“Be assured I will no longer tolerate any backchatting of the Speaker, and offenders may be asked to leave the chamber without the three warnings.”

Multiple MPs received two warnings during yesterday’s subdued session, with one even receiving a third during the dying moments of Question Time. Labor leader Rebecca White was the first MP to fall foul of Ms Hickey’s new edict.

She was suspended for an hour at the end of Question Time for being “completely unruly”.

Ms Hickey earlier told ABC radio that female MPs were the worst offenders of breaching standards. “There’s been definitely some aggression, and unfortunately I have to say most of the aggression is coming from the females, and I find that really unfortunate.”

And she was unapologetic for yesterday’s stoush with Ms Michelle O’Byrne.

“Calling someone unladylike when the behaviour was probably far worse than that description, was it a politically correct term?” she said.

“It was a complete over-reaction as far as I’m concerned.”

Also yesterday, former Labor minister Judy Jackson denied having sworn at Liberal Robin Gray in 1994.

Hansard for April 21 that year records Ms Jackson having called Mr Groom a “bloody idiot” and him responding that she was “unladylike” — the last time that term was apparently uttered in the chamber. Ms Jackson told the Mer

cury the exchange must have been mistakenly attributed to her as she had never sworn during debate on the floor of Parliament.