Australian Members of Parliament removed from chamber again in rowdy session of Question Time

November 3, 2005 In what appears to be a continuing trend from the Australian House of Representatives Question Time session November 2, an further six Federal Opposition members and one Government member were ejected during and just after Question Time November 3.

Anthony Albanese, having been warned earlier to Question Time was the first removed, and after Opposition members had interjected "Boring, boring!" to an answer from the Australian Treasurer Peter Costello describing the Opposition stance on the industrial relations reform as a "scare campaign", the Speaker Neil Andrew issued a "general warning".

Wayne Swan, Tanya Plibersek|Tanya Plibersek, Jill Hall, Julia Irwin (who was also removed yesterday) were also asked to remove themselves under standing order 94(a).

When controversy arose after a question was asked to the Leader of the House, Tony Abbott, about the issue of distributing bills on the industrial relations changes and the Speaker intervened in favour of Abbott, he went on to say that Stephen Smith "took copies of the workplace relations bill, handed them to an adviser and then the adviser exited the chamber...he then raised a point of order claiming copies were not available". Graham Edwards said "You're a fraud, Abbott!" and he was also removed.

Later, when Smith rose after Question Time to make a personal explanation that he did not "[remove] nor [steal] 60 copies of the bill", Michael Ferguson had interjected and was removed -- the only Government member to be removed over the previous few days. Julia Gillard asked the Speaker that of the eighteen Opposition members and one Government member removed over the last two days, "whether 18:1...equals a fair application of the rules as to keeping order in the House", to which he said that "the last two days have been particularly noisy and...it has required more discipline than the chair would like to have to exercise."