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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-02 Daily Xml
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Speaker, Political Membership

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is to you, sir. Have you at any point left the Australian Labor Party and, in that case, have you rejoined at any point since your appointment as Speaker—

The SPEAKER: The Leader of Government Business has a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You are not answerable to the house for your political membership, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left and my right will come to order. The question is directed to me. I need to hear the question in order to answer the question. The deputy leader.

Mr TEAGUE: Thank you, sir. Have you at any point left the Australian Labor Party and, in that case, have you at any point since rejoined since your appointment as Speaker of the house in April last year? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TEAGUE: By reference to the Register of Members' Interests, the ordinary return, your ordinary return that is stamped as having been received on 26 August 2024, refers to your membership of the Australian Labor Party, despite having been made Speaker in April of that year. Your register of member's interests ordinary return, stamped as having been received on 27 August 2025, just a few days ago, contains no such reference to membership of any political party.

The SPEAKER (14:32): Seriously, is this the best you've got? Is this the best you've got? You have had your leader out there saying he was going to ask me questions about this. I want to tell the people of Mount Gambier: at no time has the Liberal Party made any representation to me about conducting a by-election ahead of the general election—at no time. Nor did I receive any from the Labor Party, but it's really important to point out that when you are out there—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I check my inbox. I even got my staff—I said, 'Go down and check the PO box this morning' in case I had a letter from the Leader of the Opposition, in case I had a letter from Tony Pasin, who remains to this day all stunt and no substance. If you want to know about Tony Pasin, go on YouTube and type in the search 'poindexter Pasin Bignell' and you will find something about Tony Pasin. So for you to come in here and try to cast aspersions on my—

Members interjecting:

Mr Teague: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: I will get to your question now, so on the point of order you can sit down. I am going to answer your question. It is a matter of public record that the day I was made Speaker, I tendered to this house a letter that I had written to the Secretary of the Australian Labor Party SA branch resigning from the Labor Party. That is why it appears in last year's return, because everything in that financial year has to be in there. So I was a member of the Labor Party from 1 July until 21 April, or whatever the date was. I have just filed this year's, which goes from 1 July to 30 June, in which case I was not a member of the Labor Party.

In early August, as is allowable under the act, the Speaker can rejoin the party in the financial year before the next general election. So I went online in August and they charged me the $80, the Labor Party; I haven't actually received a letter saying I am back in. But that is why it's not in there, because it's from 1 July to 30 June.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my right will come to order. I can't hear the member for MacKillop.

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