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Mr Speaker, can you please get to the point

Leo Shanahan

by Leo Shanahan

15 Sep 03:49pm

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Filed under: Independents, Parliament, Politics, Rob Oakeshott

73 comments

The prospect of Rob Oakeshott becoming speaker is not one that should surprise any of us.

Cartoon by The Australian's Peter Nicholson

Firstly, anyone who saw the final painfully long press conference at which he announced support for Labor should know the independent MP is getting pretty used to all this attention. If that performance is anything to go by, we may need to add a few extra rules to the parliamentary reforms that stipulates time limits on the speaker’s responses. This may be the first Parliament that allows MPs to tell the speaker to keep his answers brief.

Secondly Oakeshott sees himself as the embodiment of the new political paradigm he loves to talk about. He is its self declared messiah and the speaker role is a good position from which to preach to the masses.

If Oakeshott really wants this he’ll get it. With the new parliamentary reforms brokered by the independents stipulating an independent speaker (that doesn’t necessarily mean someone from outside a party, just someone who doesn’t sit in a party room while speaker) Oakeshott will considers himself a perfect fit even if the major parties don’t.

Current speaker Labor MP Harry Jenkins wants to keep his job, and despite periodic concerns from both sides about Jenkins’ long-winded replies and verbosity, he may well look like the picture of parliamentary brevity compared to what Oakeshott may have in store for us.

But Gillard can’t risk putting Oakeshott off side and may well just hand the job over despite concerns about how it looks and whether he can do the job, especially if the other independents decide to back him.

There’s also a legitimate question for Gillard and Oakeshott to answer here: was he promised the speakership in talks prior to giving Labor the greenlight to forming Government? This isn’t to say that if the Coalition could’ve secured Oakeshott’s support they wouldn’t have handed him the job as well, but for all Oakeshott’s talk of “letting the sunshine in” shouldn’t we know what was on the table?

This is not an outcome that the Opposition will be particularly thrilled with either. By having Oakeshott as speaker it gives this Government a more reformist shiny new feel, something that people may well like.

The Coalition could kick up a stink on vote pairing in the House of Representatives, that is an obligation to have one of its members sit out to compensate for the fact that as speaker Oakeshott won’t be able to vote on most bills. Given that Oakeshott is an independent and not a Labor MP the Coalition may argue that it’s not obliged to have one of its members paired off. This would be unlikely to work on a practical or procedural level, and anyway would not be a good look for Abbott.

Oakeshott made clear today that he’d want a guarantee of where he stands on pairing rights to insure against skullduggery:

“Essentially establishing the status of pairing rights and whether it is based on goodwill between all parties or whether it can be codified at a higher level,” he said.

“This is a tight Parliament and there will be at various times tricks played and we’ve just got to make sure we manage that.”

This could also have the consequence of cementing Oakeshott’s electoral support in his seat, which will be a kick in the guts for those in the Coalition hoping his decision to back Labor would lead to his demise at the next election.

So strap yourself in folks and prepare for the days of Parliament under Oakeshott, we could be here a while.

Most commented

73 comments

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    • Anjuli says:

      04:13pm | 15/09/10

      He has just confirmed to me that he has a high opinion of himself,maybe there are no other comments about this man because he is so uninteresting, as his messages gets lost in the narrative.

      Reply

    • Macca says:

      04:22pm | 15/09/10

      @Anjuli, it shouldn’t come as a suprise that an independent MP seems to be driven by such an ego. The People of Port Macquarie will not give a buggery of any impact he has in Canberra. They want results in their seat. Failure to do so will result in him losing the seat to the Coalition

    • MarK says:

      06:35pm | 15/09/10

      Hi actions have ensured he will be booted out next time.

      He won the seat because he was a “conservative” who was not Rob Drew in the 2008 by election.

      he was given a fair go by people this time because he was a “conservative” and incumbent.

      Interestingly enough Gillespe (The Nats candidate) siad during the campaign aq vote for Oakeshott was a vote for Labor.

      He was laughed at.

      No one is laughing now.

    • The Badger says:

      08:14pm | 15/09/10

      Oh mark
      There are plenty of us laughing besides you and your three friends.

    • acotrel says:

      08:20am | 16/09/10

      Don’t worry, the Liberal Party is trying to stymie Rob’s attempt to become speaker - HOW PETTY?
      I find all this obsession with Rob Oakeshot pretty funny.  It really shows how the conservatives are bound up in trivialities.  They must really feel slighted by being given the BIG A by the independents?

    • Andrew says:

      03:39pm | 16/09/10

      Acotrel, all politicians are petty. I am a conservative voter and have no illusions about how politicians think. I think the problem with your “type” is that you think all conservatives are evil, petty, robber barons and all leftists are philanthropists, like a cross between robin hood, mother theresa and nelson mandela. I’ll give you the tip most polly’s are absolute wankers who love the sound of their own voice. I just happen to like Lib’s policies and mindset better. Doesn’t mean i like the people and it doesn’t make me dogmatic. Maybe you should examine your own motives and wake up.

    • acotrel says:

      10:15pm | 16/09/10

      Andrew, Oakeshott is nowhere near as dangerous as Tony Abbott.  Why are the Lib supporters so concerned?

    • nosthow says:

      04:17pm | 15/09/10

      I will have to be honest Leo, even as aLabor voter, Oakeshotts speech declaring his support was with Labor was a shocker. He took ages to come out and say “Labor” as if he felt he had to completely justify the previous 17 days. In the end the NBN and Computers In Schools were the two main issues that influenced him he said. For Abbott to say he would take computers out of schools is just typical of the smallbrain thinking of this man and his party as is his war against the NBN. Oakeshott saw through all this to his great credit. But summing up he needs to get to the point much much faster Leo.

      Reply

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      05:50pm | 15/09/10

      Kids need more competent teachers than they need PCs

    • MarK says:

      06:36pm | 15/09/10

      Sigh

      “Abbott to say he would take computers out of schools” - you are a liar

      that is all

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      06:44pm | 15/09/10

      Abbott did not say he would take computers out of schools. He said he would put an end to Krudd & Gillard’s *program* ie the way they handled the rollout which, in typical Labor fashion, was planned in a half-arsed manner, is running shockingly over-time and cost nearly double what they quoted.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      07:00pm | 15/09/10

      Nosthow :  ” I will have to be honest…...”  hmmm that would be a first.
      The Coalition is intent on revealing the extent of the waste of taxpayers money involved in NBN. That is why the Coalition opposes the plan ,
      the expenditure involved is not justified.
      You tend to tell just a portion of the truth by omission of fact.
      The school computer program was a farce - and is still a million miles from the original 2007 election promise. The failure of Labor policy is one of the reasons Rudd was stabbed in the political back.
      Face facts nosthow , he was a poor excuse for a P.M. and Gillard will likely fail faster than he did.

    • Rocket Surgeon says:

      08:14pm | 15/09/10

      @Mark and Tony

      Oh no, is someone spreading false information on the internet. Those damn lefties!

    • Northern Steve says:

      08:34pm | 15/09/10

      Mark and Tony, the $700m that Labor had budgeted for 1 to 1 computers for students was one the list of budget cuts from the Liberals.  It is true tha the program had its flaws though.  It was initially to be implemented over 5 years, as per international standards (look up the 21 Step Program if you are curious to read further).  They tried to shrink it to 2 years to make it part of the stimulus package - unfortunately you can’t just change classroom and teaching culture that quickly.
      And Robert, giving each kid a laptop will allow me to change the way I teach and manage a classroom, and move from teaching content to teaching thinking and collaboration (read this http://northernchalky.blogspot.com/2010/09/andy-warhol-got-it-right.html).  And as far as getting more competent teachers, the only way you will get more competent teachers is to pay salaries that are closer to the salaries where many top students go, like engineering, law and medicine.  While some top students still choose teaching, despite lower salaries, there are plenty who get in because ‘they couldn’t get in to what they really wanted’.

      To top all that, Gillard spent most of her last term as Education Minister publicly denigrating the quality and professionalism of teachers in Australia.  Not exactly a good way to draw good people into the profession.

    • David says:

      12:02am | 16/09/10

      Has anyone woken up to the fact that Labor is not continuing to put computers into schools.  It was a one off 2007 budget and in 3 years, many of the schools will no longer have PCs.  In NSW the students keep them after they leave school, so where are the next lot of kids going to get a PC, Gillard is not puting any further money into the program.  This is part of the con job that labor succeed in pulling the wool over so many voters eyes.  Tony Abbot was providing an alternative, labor had no future and yet people are accussing Tony Abbot of being small brained.

    • Ask a stupid question says:

      12:07am | 16/09/10

      Arguably, Robert Smissen. Especially English teachers, who could teach them that it’s, “Kids need competent teachers more than they need PCs”, or “Kids need more competent teachers more than they need PCs.”

    • Northern Steve says:

      08:42pm | 16/09/10

      @David,
      Next round of NSSCF money is due out end of 2011.  Already budgeted for.

      I’m not commenting on the value of Labor putting something in a budget, i’m just saying it’s in there.

    • Sean says:

      04:34pm | 15/09/10

      He’s seems to believe that using many words will compensate for a lack of a clear message. Enjoying his extended moment in the sun,

      Reply

    • Tone says:

      10:13am | 16/09/10

      He is refining his preaching, and then we will wish he was just waffling

    • Nicole says:

      04:38pm | 15/09/10

      Oh God NO!!!! Please spare everyone, left and right. If this gibbering imbecile gets the job, it should become the norm for pillows to be taken in to QT. I’d rather have my wisdom teeth extracted, with no anaesthetic, than listen to Oakeshott dribble on and on and on and….............

      Reply

    • Mayday says:

      05:20pm | 15/09/10

      Agree ......other than the wisdom teeth extraction.

      I hoped we’d get a break from the verbal meanderings after they knifed Kev!

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      06:04pm | 15/09/10

      I’m more than happy to do the wisdom teeth extraction with no anaesthetic for ya with my trusty vise-grips. And I’ll extend the offer to each and every other Liberal the more conservative the better they tend to scream louder…. I dont mind a bit of screaming.

    • nosthow says:

      06:26pm | 15/09/10

      An historic moment Nicole - I am in 100% agreeance with you at last ! Imagine if we were still waiting for Oakeshott to make up his mind - we would all be admitted to the asylum. Poor Mrs Oakeshott.

    • Marg says:

      07:55am | 16/09/10

      Now come on Nicole, you know the Independents negotiated to shorten answers in QT! With Oakshot as ‘Speaker’ there will be NO QT….
      All MP’s will be issued a copy of War & Peace to read while he speaks.

    • Joan says:

      08:10am | 16/09/10

      The Court Jester- Oakeshott running the show….. Question time ... would be a total farce. unbelievable that anyone in their right mind would accept his application for the Speaker job after his public presentation of himself post election.

    • Steely Dan says:

      04:54pm | 15/09/10

      Ironic, sure.  But the speaker (traditionally, at least) doesn’t get to say too much.  This would actually guarantee he’d speak less - more frequently, but less.

      Reply

    • Matt says:

      05:15pm | 15/09/10

      How can the opposition “pair off” with Oakeshott as an independent? Given that he isn’t bound by a partyroom does the opposition need to seek his views on each item to see if a pair is needed? Does the Labor Party need to “pair” for him if wants to vote against the Government? Does that mean Oakeshott has effectively 2 votes, the “vote” that is paired off and a casting vote if one is needed?

      It all sounds like a disaster in the making to me. I can’t see why he should be any different to all the speakers that preceded him, here and in other Westminster parliaments. If he wants to be Speaker, he loses his vote in the chamber, other than a casting vote - that really should be cast per long standing Westminster convention. You can’t have it both ways.

      Reply

    • james says:

      07:24pm | 15/09/10

      I don’t even see the need for a pair. A motion is won by majority vote , it does not need the majority of the full house. So 75 to 74 would still carry any motion

    • David says:

      12:07am | 16/09/10

      The joke of this is that pairing could be challanged in the hight court and it could end up ruling all legislation approved under such a scheme as being illegal.  You cannot tell an elected representative of the people, that they are not entitled to represent their electorate, this guy is off with the faries

    • jess says:

      05:15pm | 15/09/10

      I hope he gets the job of Speaker, brings in the reforms and keeps both sides in order. As for you journalists start doing your job. Stop only reading the press releases of the major parties. Ask questions, investigate issues and report on them. Time for some quality journalism please.

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      09:26pm | 15/09/10

      Agreed, I am sick of reading junk journalism. I may as well pick up an OK or Take 5 as it is currently

    • bobw says:

      11:15am | 16/09/10

      + 1

      It’s already been made abundantly clear that some journos did not care for Oakeshott’s little speech.  Is the continuing stream of snide allusions really necessary?

    • Rosie says:

      05:45pm | 15/09/10

      As much as I loathed Harry Jenkins, I would rather he return to the Speaker position & Oakeshott can have the Deputy Speaker position.  Then we wont have to listen to his lengthy objections etc.

      Reply

    • thatmosis says:

      05:49pm | 15/09/10

      Bloody hell, 3 years (maybe) of Verbal Diarrhea and the whole of the Parlimet will commit hari kiri. The mans a clown and the only job I would offer him is outside a MacDonalds with red hair and big boots that is of course if he can get Joolia to move along.

      Reply

    • Marg says:

      08:17am | 16/09/10

      I wish I had said that !!!!

    • Brad Coward says:

      05:53pm | 15/09/10

      The Speaker does not vote.  Therefore, unless Gillard intends to offer the job to someone from the coalition..and she won’t…that means that it’s 75 members on both sides of the house.

      I can’t believe that the pundits are giving this parliament until Christmas 2011 to collapse.  It’s going to be in extremely bad shape from day one !

      Reply

    • James says:

      07:09pm | 15/09/10

      Ah that is rather bad maths It can’t be 75 all as it was 76 to 74, so without Rob it will be 75-74. Anyway the speaker is always ” paired” with the deputy speaker who comes from the opposition so it will be 75-73

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      07:19pm | 15/09/10

      You people really do need to read the 9 pages of changes, proposed by Oakeshott and accepted by both Joolya and Abbott.

      Among the many changes are several to the role of Speaker….why do you think this upstart non-entity wants the role?

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      08:19pm | 15/09/10

      Any advance on Xmas 2010? ? ?

    • Scarneck says:

      05:55pm | 15/09/10

      A smart move from Oakeshott if he succeeds with his wishes (pairing etc.). If he doesn’t get to vote on legislation then he can’t upset his constituents! There is nothing underhanded here as Oakeshott was offered a ministry from Gillard which he declined to accept (he couldn’t do both) unless of course, that was a smokescreen?

      Reply

    • Fred says:

      05:59pm | 15/09/10

      I don’t this article or any of the headlines I have read are particularly fair - he hasn’t said that he can’t wait to be speaker, all he said was that if somebody nominated him, he wouldn’t turn down that nomination.  But also that he realises there are 149 other people that have a say in the matter and that he would go along with wherever the vote took them.

      Reply

    • Brett says:

      06:05pm | 15/09/10

      Seriously people, he was in the unfortunate position of being partly responsible for deciding the next goverment, and you’re complaining that he attempted to justify his reasons? I guess the Lib supporters are just miffed that they can’t bag him out for making an uninformed decision. I for one am happy that he took the time to make his decision and also to show us that he did do this. If you had you’re way we might as well of just flipped a coin.

      Reply

    • Cam says:

      10:15am | 16/09/10

      Spot on. 

      I can’t understand the animosity being directed at Oakeshott over this - I would have understood him taking an hour to explain why the decision was being made.  I guess it annoyed the journalists, who knew that he was going to vote Labor but couldn’t rush off to file their story until he actually said it - he knew this, which was why he presented in the way he did.

      Moral of the story - don’t piss of the press, they’ll destroy you.

    • Michael says:

      06:11pm | 15/09/10

      I don’t understand why everyone hates this guy, I love what he has done and I hope he becomes the speaker, I am actually looking forward to watching question time now, frankly I think a judge should hold the speakers role and politicians should be held in contempt for the conduct they get away with, who hasn’t watched question time and thought its a disgrace?

      Reply

    • Northern Steve says:

      08:38pm | 15/09/10

      Let’s just hope it doesn’t take him 17 days to decide on each point of order

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      06:46pm | 15/09/10

      This clown has had his 15 minutes of fame and it isn’t anyone’s fault but his that he used it up saying what could have been said in 30 seconds.

      There is no way on God’s green earth he should be allowed in the speaker’s chair. He simply has to realise that it is not all about him.

      Reply

    • mary says:

      06:50pm | 15/09/10

      Oakeshott will make an excellent speaker and either way he will have not trouble being re-elected in Lyne - he has enormous support and it has increased over the last weeks - it is the minority sore losers who are making all the noise

      Reply

    • Marg says:

      08:23am | 16/09/10

      Mary, Mary, Quite contrary…  You couldn’t elect this bloke to be dog catcher.

    • Carnegie says:

      09:25am | 16/09/10

      Are you kidding?
      I’m filthy that Oakeshott has pulled out of the forum in Port Macquarie tonight. The bloke has to be living in a parallel universe to have expected anything other than difficult questions and a fairly hostile crowd!
      It took me half a day to get those tickets (I live at Tallwoods just south of Taree), I was so annoyed I called Ray Hadley (that vent lowered my temp a bit).

      Oakeshott’s crew seem to think that if they leave it a bit and hold the event when things have cooled down, it will be a nice and fuzzy community event - well I doubt it. I think the cancellation on such feeble grounds will only further inflame the distaste for the bloke!

      What people from outside the electorate don’t understand is there simply is not a critical mass of Labor support in Lyne (i.e. union members, people that vote Labor based on family history, a significant ethnic population etc…) and that is not going to change!

    • antman says:

      02:36pm | 16/09/10

      Carnegie, the news stories that I have read indicate that it was the local newspaper that was running the event, not Rob Oakeshott, who has put a stop to it.

    • Carnegie says:

      08:26am | 17/09/10

      @Antman,

      Rob Oakeshott’s best friend runs the news paper. The Port News is nothing more than a propaganda machine for Rob Oakeshott, up till now he has got away with it but now he has made some powerful enemies and well they won’t stop until he is exposed for what he is!

    • The Oracle says:

      07:23pm | 15/09/10

      He will be a real Turnoff at question time , as just to see this egomaniac motormouth is even annoying enough. His 17 minutes of fame has come and gone,so please,please go away ,haven’t you heard of Overkill?
      Julia if you have any DECENCY and COMMONSENSE please don’t let him in the chair,maybe electric chair HaHa. Imagine how he will annoy your MP’s not to mention yourself and everyone else.Shaft him like you did Kevin.

      Reply

    • Dennis Poole says:

      07:44pm | 15/09/10

      The speaker should be completely independent,  they could even be a non elected speaker. All they seem to do is shout ORDER, any one can do that. He is worse than Kevin for waffling so Order, Order, might be just the thing to keep him quiet.

      Reply

    • Against the Man says:

      08:57pm | 15/09/10

      Okie is a Labor stooge. Once again the great ALP con job has screwed Australia!

      Reply

    • Chewy says:

      08:58pm | 15/09/10

      This goose just cant get enough of the limelight, he spent the last few weeks lapping it up and now he is out for more attention. I wonder how many in his electorate are saying “I cant believe I voted for this guy”?

      Reply

    • Sven Gali says:

      12:16am | 16/09/10

      It’s lucky for them that Oakeshott’s got better things to do than read the comments from Coalition supporters here, or they’d never have any chance of doing a deal with him.

      Reply

    • Molly Daveson says:

      01:01am | 16/09/10

      Oakeshott appears to be a man with a self serving mission. Something in his life has made it necessary for him to be in the limelight, no matter what the cost. I personally would not give him the time of day, let alone the Speakers Chair.

      Reply

    • Gerry says:

      01:21am | 16/09/10

      Have you ever seen a human being go from a nobody to suffereing delusions of grandeur so quickly as Oatshotte?

      At least Napoleon actually did something!

      Reply

    • Doug Rhodes says:

      07:08am | 16/09/10

      Why not appoint a non political speaker, a prominent non partisan,who flips the salt timer,pleads for the honorable member to resume his seat and desist from interjections .How is any electorate well served by the keeper of this office being their particular member. You would imagine there is a fair amount of behind the scenes work to be done, staying with the existing protocol of political procedure just for the sake of tradition is just more political dysfunction.

      Reply

    • Stewart Henstock says:

      08:07am | 16/09/10

      Boreshott controlling question time????
      zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      08:45am | 16/09/10

      Nobody could call the coalition ‘SORE LOSERS’?

      Reply

    • Denny says:

      10:11am | 16/09/10

      The ALP are not winners the last time I checked. They did lose a fair few seats. Okie is a Independnt in ALP cloths and he has set himself up for the fall of a lifetime. Lets start the timer on when this so called government will implode.

    • Marian Dalton says:

      08:56am | 16/09/10

      The Opposition have made it clear that they consider Oakeshott to be ‘on the government side’. Sen Bernardi today confirmed this when specifically asked about the Speaker’s position.

      If they were to turn around now and claim that Oakeshott was not, and therefore ineligible to become Speaker, they would need strong legal backing to avoid allegations of engaging in destructive behaviour for its own sake.

      Reply

    • Shelley says:

      02:03pm | 16/09/10

      The best qualified person should get the job. I personally don’t believe Oakeshott comes close to being as qualified as Jenkins or others that may want a stab at the position. Oakeshott couldn’t even be bothered turning up for votes most times in the past.
      Australia pays top dollar for this position. We deserve to have it filled by the best person qualified for the position, not the one making the most noise!

      Reply

    • Razor says:

      05:58pm | 16/09/10

      This clown needs to read the constitution before setting off on his flights of fancy.

      Reply

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      06:54pm | 16/09/10

      Let’s be clear about this . Oakshott wants the plum position of Speaker because it has a Salary of $238,000 per annum , staff of three and lavish offices.
      In 2007 , as a N.S.W. M.P. , Oakshott approached then Premier Morris Iemma about sitting in his Cabinet . This gives an insight to what makes a man like Oakshott tick , he has a penchant to be in a position of power.
      It also reveals his tendency to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.
      That he wants to displace Jenkins , a qualified Speaker , without any qualms, also shows the treacherous nature of the man.  He is well aware that he is in a position to blackmail Gillard and Labor for anything he wants.

      Reply

    • Farmer says:

      09:56pm | 16/09/10

      The matter is simple. S40 0f the Constitution is clear that the Speaker does not have a deliberative vote. There cannot be a pair for a vote that does not exist.

      Reply

    • Farmer says:

      09:57pm | 16/09/10

      The matter is simple. S40 0f the Constitution is clear that the Speaker does not have a deliberative vote. There cannot be a pair for a vote that does not exist.

      Reply

    • Terry says:

      05:23pm | 17/09/10

      The only problem with that argument is that it isn’t a ‘vote cast’ which is paired under the arrangement agreed to.  It’s a vote NOT cast which is paired.  That agreement ensures the independence of Speaker from the process of governance by ensuring that his/her refraining from voting does not impact upon the outcome of a deliberation.  Both Labor and Coalition have agreed to FOREGO a vote to even up the potential impact of the Speaker not having a vote other than his/her casting vote in the event of a tie.

      Git it?  The Speaker doesn’t vote.  The ‘opposite side’ concedes a vote also.

    • acotrel says:

      10:21pm | 16/09/10

      Tony Abbott and the coalition deserve Oakeshott as speaker! I hope he crags them as much as they crag me!

      Reply

    • Daniel Gibson says:

      02:04pm | 08/05/12

      For better or worse, Rob Oakeshott did not get the job. Who knows how long his speeches will be if he gets to indulge in that position as speaker.

      Reply

    • Daniel Gibson says:

      04:53pm | 10/05/12

      Now that Peter Slipper has become the speaker in the house of representatives, some people are glad that Rob Oakeshott did not manage to take the role. Some have also complained about Slipper, which goes to show that not everyone can be satisfied so easily, no matter who sits on that chair.

      Reply
 
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