Kangaroo Island CFS

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Is the minister aware of any active members of the Kangaroo Island CFS—

An honourable member interjecting:

Mr PEDERICK: I will start again—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PEDERICK: Is the minister aware of any active members of the Kangaroo Island CFS being banned from attending a meeting with him in coming days? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PEDERICK: The opposition has been advised of claims that the member for Mawson is seeking to prevent at least one active member of the local CFS brigade from attending a meeting this week hosted by the minister and senior members of the CFS.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members to my left! There is a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: the house gave leave to the member to explain his question, then he proceeded to breach standing orders by making personal reflections on another member. I would ask him to rephrase.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order: that is a bogus point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: They have made no claim of personal reflection but assumed it as fact, did not have a standing order, and the explanation should stand.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Standing order 127 is clear in its terms. It requires, amongst other matters, that a member not impute an improper motive to another member. It would ordinarily be the case that I would turn to the member for Mawson, for instance, if he were on his feet; he is not present—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! It is not appropriate to reflect in the way that members are seeking to, by way of interjection, on whether I would do that or not. I am very careful in the circumstances to apply 127 because it may be that the reputation of a member is improperly impugned. I am going to turn to the member for Hammond and give him an opportunity to recast the question. It occurs to me that it is entirely possible to ask the same question without naming any member.

Mr PEDERICK: My question is to the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Is the minister aware of any active members of the Kangaroo Island CFS being banned from attending a meeting with him in coming days?

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (14:59): No, I am not, none whatsoever. In fact, I am very pleased to have been in Kangaroo Island on, now, a number of occasions. The most recent occasion was with country cabinet, where the Premier, the Deputy Premier and I attended a meeting with locals from KI, including some CFS members, who were deeply impacted by the fires that ravaged that community. It was a wonderful meeting, one that I think I will reflect on on behalf of all the ministers who attended. It was one that was emotional and informed by the significant trauma that the community has gone through. I can be very, very clear for the member that there is nothing, to my understanding or to my knowledge, in line with that member's question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!