Harry’s reasons

Harry Jenkins has ended the parliamentary year with a surprise, announcing he will resign as Speaker today:

In a statement to Parliament, Speaker Jenkins said he’d divorced himself from party political matters in order to carry out his duties in a non-partisan manner. “In this era of minority government I have progressively become frustrated at this stricture,” he said. “My desire is to be able to participate in policy and parliamentary debate, and this would be incompatible with continuing in the role of Speaker.”

Which is no huge deal if that’s all there is to it. But with the rift between Deputy Speaker Peter Slipper and his party widening of late – the LNP is presently considering disciplinary action against him – the suspicion exists that the government has reached an arrangement with him. If so, the return of Jenkins to the floor would enable the government to win confidence motions 76-73 rather than 75-74. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Events are moving quicker than my iPad typing speed. Phillip Coorey of the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

The Liberal MP, Peter Slipper, is likely to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives after Labor’s Harry Jenkins resigned this morning, shocking the Parliament on its final sitting day for 2011. Labor MPs will be asked to approve Mr Slipper’s nomination at a special caucus meeting scheduled for 10am.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

1,458 comments on “Harry’s reasons”

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  2. [the govt has the responsibility of providing the Speaker under the Westminster system]

    Apart from the fact that even in Westminster this isn’t true.

  4. [That ‘Dennis’ would ask Abbott about the Mal Coulston affair – which Abbott refused to answer – is a fair indication of what the OO now thinks of him.]

    Absolutely Love It!

  6. [BernardKeane Bernard Keane
    So you threaten to dump an MP in a hung Parliament and they rat you out – gee, there’s a shock.
    1 minute ago]

  9. [watermelon_man David Horton
    Abbott has been trashing parliamentary conventions, maliciously all year, as if there was no tomorrow. Tomorrow just came Tony.
    ]

  10. Bringing back Malaysia would be fraught. Did Anna Burke hint at abstention?

    It will be lost in the Senate and, if the libs have brains (errr?), they will go at Doug Cameron about his opposition to the amendments.

  11. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/harry-jenkins-resigns-as-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives/story-fn7x8me2-1226204374621

    [Slipper tipped as Harry Jenkins resigns as lower house Speaker
    by: Phillip Hudson, Steve Lewis From: Herald Sun, AAP November 24, 2011 9:08AM

    UPDATE 10.41am: A CONTROVERSIAL Queensland Coalition MP – who is facing possible expulsion from his own party – is set to become the Labor-backed Speaker of the Parliament.]

  12. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/harry-jenkins-resigns-as-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives/story-fn7x8me2-1226204374621

    [Slipper tipped as Harry Jenkins resigns as lower house Speaker
    by: Phillip Hudson, Steve Lewis From: Herald Sun, AAP November 24, 2011 9:08AM

    UPDATE 10.41am: A CONTROVERSIAL Queensland Coalition MP – who is facing possible expulsion from his own party – is set to become the Labor-backed Speaker of the Parliament.]

  15. At some point in time, surely the hard-heads in the Liberal Party are going to have to come to the realisation that, nothwithstanding one’s personal views on Abbott as a digusting example of a human being (or possibly not), the key issue is he is simply not very good

    He lacks too many of what would normally considered core competencies for a LOTO:
    – he is not a good negotiator
    – he is not a good liar
    – he is not a good policy maker
    – he is not a good statesman
    – he is not a good enforcer of party discipline
    – he is not a good strategist

    tick, tick, tick. Only a matter of time…

  16. [Pollytics Possum Comitatus
    What this means is there’s going to be a hell of a lot more “naming” in #qt]

    Yep. Dutton will have to lift his game.

  18. Puff
    [PB has been pondering the Rudd-Slipper canoodles since it started]
    Indeed. It is a beautifully executed exercise. Worthy of an Italian renaissance court!

  19. Laocoon:

    The only reasons he’s been ‘successful’ is because the govt had the focus on it for most of the last 2 years, and because of the rank incompetence of our msm.

  22. Puff @116,

    Thanks for that clarification..

    I was just responding to the tweet from Sam Maden about the libs nominating Anna Burke as speaker.

  23. Just to squash any rumours before they start.

    My recent absence from Twitter and Poll Bludger has nothing to do with the Speaker’s chair becoming vacant.

    I have not been in any talks with anyone regarding the position of Speaker, and if offered the job (which I haven’t), I would politely decline.

    However, if, I did become Speaker, at the open of Parliamnet each day, I would put the following “Honourable” Members on notice that any crap from them, they’d be straight out on the @rses:

    Pyne
    Mirabella
    Dutton
    Bishop, B

    Ah, what the hell, the entire Noalition. They have had enough warnings already, and a “zero tolerance” policy would be applied immediately.

  25. Harry was a real good bloke, but honestly in his efforts to act independently as speaker, Noalition members played him for a fool.

    The Libs have turned their back on Slipper, now he will be a true independent.

    Great news for Labor re votes and great news for the possible conduct of the house.

    Oh and yep, the Monkey has turned a shade of ghost white!

  29. As for the Queensland LNP!!

    What a hopeless mob.

    I am a big believer in persistency of corporate culture: Joh derailed the “ideological father”. Brough is derailing the “ideological love child”

  31. Have standing orders changed or is it possible for the Libs to repeat the performance in NSW in 1911 when Labor nominated a conservative for speaker. The vote went for 18 hrs during which there was scuffling between members and the clerk threatened to call the police. Eventually as no other member had been nominated the Speaker Willis was carried to the chair despite the conservatives attempting to block his passage.

  32. [Press Gallery are none from two: didn’t see Rudd challenge]

    Wasn’t there a post/ tweet early this morning about the Opposition’s indicating that there would be an announcement today of something which would shake the government?

    QT today should be a ripper. I might even forget the mute button when the Abbott rant starts.

    Great to look back at Rudd’s grin yesterday’s QT as Albanese let fly. If you’ve forgotten, it’s here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcEHXphhLIU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

  33. Hansard record it as ‘noalition’ rather than ‘NOalition’ or Noalition’.

    Also yesterday

    [That is what Robert Menzies said about this person who has led the coalition of yesterday into the ‘noalition’ of today—the ‘noalition’ who have just one policy to every issue: no, no, no, no, no. We heard it 32 times last night, and so desperate were they that….]

    http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr231111.pdf

    I’m more formal that the Hansard recorders – for me it will be ‘Noalition’

  37. Note that the Libs are forcing their members not to vote for Slipper by threatening them with expulsion. How many times have we heard how the Libs allow a free vote and it’s the nasty Labor Party that forces everyone to vote the same way?

  38. I guess someone has to lower the tone of this to crass commercial considerations, so might as well be moi.

    As Speaker, Slipper would also get a 75% pay rise!

    (Harry takes a 42% fall for the team as well; one wonders whether there will be an appropriate sinecure found for him. The English system is so good for that – Lord Privy Seal, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, etc etc)

    http://www.remtribunal.gov.au/determinationsReports/byYear/2011/2011-22%20Determination.pdf

  39. Can anyone figure out how the Speaker election is likely to go? There are only 73 known votes for Slipper (72 Labor + Slipper). I have no idea what the indies would be thinking. They lose some power, but they can’t do any better than accept Slipper. What will the coalition do? You can’t vote “no” to anyone. You have to vote for an alternative nominee. No Labor member will accept. Maybe an indie would, but either way Labor gets Harry back, so it looks like checkmate.

  44. Windsor and Oaky will IMO be happy to dilute the Abbott ‘one heartbeat’ from government line. Wilke will go along with it as will Bandt but Wilke will be a little pissed off I’d say.

  45. [Note that the Libs are forcing their members not to vote for Slipper by threatening them with expulsion.]

    It’s hard to expel people if there’s a secret ballot. The votes are sealed, so they can’t even try and do ‘handwriting analysis’.

  46. News Ltd reporting Slipper has accepted Speakers job and add…

    The Liberals will struggle to condemn the arrangement because it has itself done something similar.

    On Budget night in 1996, ALP Senator Mal Colston quit the party to sit as an independent because the Labor Opposition would not give him its nomination to be Deputy President of the Upper House. The Government of John Howard made sure he got the job.

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/harry-jenkins-resigns-as-speaker/story-e6frfkvr-1226204378477#ixzz1eZpsrzrZ

  47. Wow 4 months away in NZ and Fiji on work and I come back to this today. Spectacular stuff.

    Oh ‘frabulous’ day! More evidence, if it was ever needed, that the Govt is exerting better agenda control and management day by day.

    Take that budgie smuggler boy, what goes around comes around ;-0

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