MPs shown `red card` at an alarming rate |
MPs shown `red card` at an alarming rate | 3.07.2009 | |
 Red card ... official figures show the main offenders are Opposition frontbenchers Peter Dutton and Joe Hockey. |
ONLY an early election can save our present crop of federal MPs from rivalling the most unruly since Federation.
Halfway through this stormy parliamentary term, there have been 107 suspensions from the House of Representatives.
That`s on track to challenge the previous Parliament`s record of 223, the Herald Sun reports.
Official figures show the main offenders are Opposition frontbenchers Peter Dutton and Joe Hockey.
The combative duo have been sent packing from the chamber nine times each - under the one-hour "sin bin" rule - since the 2007 election.
But veteran bomb-thrower Wilson Tuckey is on course for the biggest record of them all. The fiery West Australian Liberal MP sits just one "red card" away from the most 24-hour suspensions in a career.
The record-holder is Labor firebrand Eddie Ward, a non-smoking, non-swearing teetotaller who received 24-hour suspensions 15 times.
Mr Tuckey is a 29-year veteran of Parliament and his career tally of 14 includes one three-day suspension and two seven-day expulsions.
Asked if it was inevitable he would eclipse Mr Ward`s mark, Mr Tuckey, 73, said: "Not through any deliberate act of mine.
"On the other hand, were it to happen, it would be if I was sufficiently unhappy with the rulings of the Speaker.
"I am well past the need for sensationalism."
Mr Tuckey attributed his imposing record to being the Coalition`s deputy parliamentary tactician in the `80s, which meant he often courted danger as a "dispensable item".
"It is the tactic of having shock troops, if you like - people who are expected to get shot in the fray," he said. "They are not the leader of the party and, therefore, can be embarrassed in the process.
"Not many people are prepared to take a position where you can be embarrassed for fear of jeopardising their own promotion in the future."
One reason for much higher suspension rates is the introduction of the "sin bin" rule in 1994. This gives the Speaker discretion to immediately eject MPs for an hour - rather than go through the long process of "naming" them and holding time-consuming votes.
The career leader on "sin bins" is Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese with 30 send-offs - mostly from his days in Opposition.
Mr Albanese is now Labor`s chief tactician but life in the more restrained government benches has seen his count grind to a virtual halt.
PM Kevin Rudd has blotted his copybook once in 11 years, while Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has not incurred the Speaker`s wrath. |
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