Paddy's Law

Mr BOYER (Wright) (15:29): I have not been a member of this place for very long; nonetheless, I think I can say with hand on heart that this morning was the first time I have actually felt embarrassed or ashamed to be a member of this place. I admit that I may have been naive to have thought that the members who are elected to the privileged position that we are in, as members of the House of Assembly, would not be capable of the kind of cruelty we saw displayed on the floor of this chamber this morning. It takes, I think, a special kind of individual to take a stand against a reform as small as a warning label designed to do nothing more than to save young lives.

The Hon. R. Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr BOYER: You did not have the guts to even talk to the father. You walked out.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier on a point of order.

The Hon. D.J. Speirs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, Minister for Environment and Water!

The Hon. D.J. Speirs: It's absolutely disgraceful. Imagine if one of us said that to one of your female members. That's absolutely disgraceful.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am on my feet. The member for Cheltenham will cease.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham can leave for 20 minutes under 137A. The Minister for Environment is warned.

The honourable member for Cheltenham having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier on the point of order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Yes, sir. May I just bring to the attention of the house that the member, I suggest, is now reflecting on a vote of the house this morning for which an adjournment was recorded. He may not appreciate the significance of that, but obviously that is a matter which is not able to be done, to reflect on a vote of the house. Whilst this is a very sensitive matter—and I appreciate it is—I think the sensitivity has been expressed by a number in the house and just by the recent outburst, but I just ask you to bring the member to order if he is going to bring some commentary in relation to the issue rather than the conduct surrounding a vote this morning.

Mr BROWN: Point of order, Mr Speaker: the member had not in any way reflected on the vote of the house. The Deputy Premier may think she reads his mind, but he had not said anything about a vote of the house.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman: I think it's outrageous.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Wright! The point of order is pursuant to standing order 119.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I hear the point of order. I am listening carefully to the member for Wright. I remind the member for Wright of the importance of not reflecting upon a vote of the house except for the purposes of moving that the vote be rescinded. I have not heard the member for Wright reflect, at least consciously, on the vote. The member for Wright is addressing his concern in relation to the subject matter. I will listen carefully. The member for Wright has the call.

Mr BOYER: It takes, I think, a special kind of individual to take a stand against a reform so small as adding a warning label to a gas cylinder which is designed to do absolutely nothing more than to save young lives. To take a stand like that, whilst the grieving family of the young person whose death instigated the reforms is sitting next—

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Again, a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier on a point of order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: The member is going on in relation to his concern as to, as he keeps repeating, taking the stand to not deal with this matter which reflects on the vote this morning that that issue be adjourned. I know that it has been already clearly expressed that some were unhappy with that, but this is not the forum upon which there can be a reflection on the vote. If he wishes to speak about gas cylinders in general, he is entitled to do so, and what initiatives might be considered for that purpose. He is certainly able to do that, but to reflect on the vote in relation to asserting how bad it is—

Mr Malinauskas: He hasn't!

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —that people should act in a manner to refuse to deal with the matter—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —reflects on the vote directly.

The SPEAKER: Order! The deputy leader on a point of order.

Dr CLOSE: Mr Speaker, from my hearing, the member for Wright is not reflecting on the adjournment vote that occurred but on the lack of support on the issue, which has been articulated by the other side, and therefore he ought to be able to continue to speak. An adjournment is not the same as voting against the bill, and therefore reflecting on the position—

The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr CLOSE: —that the government has adopted is not the same as reflecting on the vote this morning.

The SPEAKER: Order! As I hear the member for Wright, he is referring to the particular context in which the matter is brought to the house and to individuals who may have been present at the particular time. He is otherwise reflecting on the merits of the debate. I do not uphold the point of order. The member for Wright has the call.

Mr BOYER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. But to take that stand whilst the grieving family of the young person whose death instigated a push for labels on gas cylinders are next door hoping that they can salvage just a small modicum of meaning from their son's death is unthinkable.

So much effort has gone into explaining why it is important that we warn our young people against the dangers of huffing liquid petroleum gas. I offer my thanks and appreciation, not just as a member of parliament but as a father of three young children, to Adrian Ryan, the father of the late Paddy Ryan who died from sudden sniffing death syndrome in Port Lincoln in February this year, who deep in his own grief went about speaking to Paddy's friends who were there on that fateful night and the first responders who tried valiantly to save Paddy's life about the circumstances of his death and what if anything could be done to prevent that happening to anybody else.

Adrian deserves our respect for a lot of reasons, but first and foremost he deserves it for the selflessness he has shown after his son's passing by working immediately to stop it from happening to anybody else. I know his family and friends, many of whom were here today, are proud of Adrian for the courage he has shown, and we in this place should all be very proud to call him a South Australian.

This was a man so driven to do what he could do to prevent another death like Paddy's that he sat outside supermarkets in his own home town collecting signatures and giving away warning labels he had designed himself to passers-by as a desperate means of building support for something to happen about the issue in this place right here.

I would like to briefly use this opportunity to thank the Hon. Connie Bonaros and her staff for all their work in raising awareness of this issue and also thank my colleagues the members for Mawson and Cheltenham and the Hon. Kyam Maher in the other place for making the trip with me to Port Lincoln earlier this year to meet with Adrian and hear firsthand from him just why warning labels on LPG cylinders are important and how he thinks they can save lives.

Last but not least, too, my thanks to the member for Flinders for taking the very courageous step of pledging his support for this issue. As many of us know in this place, he is a thoroughly decent man. Nonetheless, the government's unwillingness to support this issue I think is something that will haunt members of this parliament for many years to come.

Could I just finish by saying that the next time any of us in this place are confronted by a person at a shopping centre, at a sporting event, on a doorstep or on a phone call who tells us that they have given up on politics and given up on politicians, well, before you shake your head and you write them off as being a crank, or misguided or ill informed, I ask you all just to remember what happened here this morning.