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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-23 Daily Xml
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WATER SECURITY MINISTER

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:45): My question is to the member for Mawson. Did the member for Mawson, when questioned by The Australian newspaper about the tenure—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Just let me hear the question, please.

Mr GRIFFITHS: Did the member for Mawson, when questioned by The Australian newspaper about the tenure of the Minister for Water Security, tell The Australian that the deal was only for last term and this term—'If you do a deal, you keep a deal'—and did he also tell other Labor MPs that he had written to the Premier to say that the Minister for Water Security should be removed from cabinet?

The SPEAKER: The question is out of order. The member for Mawson has no responsibility to the house for comments he makes to a newspaper.

Mrs REDMOND: Sir, can I seek a point of clarification on that ruling, please? Earlier this year, you made a ruling when the member for Mount Gambier asked a question of the member for Hammond and allowed a question from the member for Mount Gambier to the member for Hammond in this house.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! If the Leader of the Opposition is referring to what I think she is referring to, that was a question about travel undertaken by the member for Hammond using his parliamentary travel budget and—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! If the house will come to order I will attempt to clarify the matter for the Leader of the Opposition, but I am not going to be shouted down by members while I attempt to do so. The Leader of the Opposition would also be aware that the following day I made a definitive ruling regarding that question. The member for Hammond at the time was obviously keen to answer the question, and I allowed him to do so.

I am not saying that all questions to backbenchers are out of order. The question is whether the backbencher has some responsibility to the house with respect to the subject that is being asked about. In this case, the subject is comments that may or may not have been made by the member for Mawson to a newspaper, for which I cannot see the member for Mawson has any responsibility to the house at all.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Sir, on the point of order, would it be equally out of order for me to ask a Liberal backbencher if they have backgrounded the media on the shortcomings of their leadership, or something like that?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Indeed, it would. The question is out of order. Does the deputy leader want to ask the next question?

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