This week, the Speaker of Queensland Parliament appealed to the state's 93 MPs to "start respecting each other", repeating his warning that "personal vitriol is overtaking common decency".
asserted
vitriol → appeal → decency
Two hours later, after a heated Question Time, he admitted in a radio interview with 612 ABC Brisbane that he had been roundly ignored.
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he → admit → Brisbane
While Speaker Pat Weir said he "just hopes" parliamentary conduct does improve, a respected former speaker said he was deliberately undermined by the government and must use his powers to lift the tone of debate.
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he → say → debate
To be fair, to the Speaker of the notoriously brutish Queensland Parliament, Pat Weir started this week's session strongly.
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Weir → start → session
With parliament resuming Tuesday, he delivered what — on paper at least — appeared to be a stern warning, urging the state's MPs to confront the ugliness of their political discourse and face up to the dangers it breeds.
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it → resume → dangers
"The quarrelling in the chamber is incessant," he said.
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he → say → chamber
He complained of the "easy use of inflammatory, unparliamentary language".
Despaired that "serious allegations are hurled across the chamber in this house … the peddling of false narratives increases each week".
"It is time to reset," he declared.
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he → complain → narratives
Yet, all this was delivered in the halting, quiet, gravelly voice of the 66-year-old Toowoomba MP, who before entering parliament 11 years ago, was a lifelong mixed farmer and cattle breeder, with a keen interest in the local rodeo, and the cricket and golf clubs.
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who → deliver → rodeo
Within minutes, the intensely partisan tone had returned in a rowdy Question Time in which MPs from all sides shouted interjections across the Chamber.
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MPs → return → Chamber
In answer to a question about her youth justice portfolio, minister Laura Gerber was yelling a sledge at the Opposition Leader.
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Gerber → yell → Leader
"[His] own front bench leaking to the media about the fact that they want him gone.
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him → leak → fact
Mate, you're cooked," she said.
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she → cook → ?
The Attorney-General clearly had the same script and delivered it at the same volume, claiming one of the Opposition Leader's colleagues had "stabbed her leader in the back" during a media interview.
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one → have → interview
After objections from Labor and a reminder from the Speaker about his comments on the tone of the house, Deb Frecklington concluded her answer with: "We don't know whether her steak was medium rare or well done, but we do know that the Leader of the Opposition is cooked.
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Leader → conclude → Opposition
In an interview with 612 ABC Brisbane an hour after that bruising Question Time, a weary Pat Weir could not offer much.
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Weir → offer → much
"Yeah, well … let's hope it all improves tomorrow because no doubt those speeches and all that strategy was worked out this morning before I gave my address."
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I → let → address
This, in a week in which one Greens MP, Michael Berkman, revealed he had sought counselling to deal with the aggression and hostility of the parliamentary workplace and two other crossbench MPs revealed their distress at watching an under-pressure Independent MP crying openly in parliament, prior to his death.
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MP → reveal → death
"That's bulls**t," he said, referring to Pat Weir's concession that perhaps the government had locked in its parliamentary tactics before his plea for better behaviour.
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government → say → behaviour
"What happened was the executive arm of government set out to undermine the Speaker.
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arm → happen → Speaker
He said the Speaker should have immediately used his powers to intervene to insist MPs heed his call to improve the tone of debate.
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MPs → say → debate
As the Speaker, "you've got to enforce it".
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you → get → it
"Mate, you're cooked," should have been pulled up by the Speaker, he said.
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he → cook → Speaker
"Nobody's ever called 'mate' in that place.
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Nobody → call → place
If the speaker allows you to get away with that, after having made the [earlier] statement, well …"
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you → allow → statement
The LNP had a similar list of grievances this week about the treatment of its ministers, including the sustained, intense parliamentary questioning of Amanda Camm, who quit the troubled child safety portfolio last week.
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who → have → portfolio
"The devastating incident involving Helen Haines also has reinforced the importance of taking concerns about personal health, safety and well-being of people in public life very seriously," said Ms Camm at her resignation press conference.
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Camm → involve → conference
"That bullying didn't all happen in the House," he said before conceding, "Yeah, so she was the focal point of a lot of questions in the House.
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she → happen → House
And actually, she always acquitted herself fairly well, I thought."
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I → acquit → herself
Speaker Weir said it was up to the parliament itself to determine whether there was any merit in tougher standing orders to control Queensland's single house of parliament, where the majority government of the day dominates.
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government → say → day
Whether Labor or LNP is in power, they never need to rely on a single opposition vote, so bipartisanship is simply not necessary.
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bipartisanship → need → vote
"The winner-takes-all reality of Queensland Parliament has a huge impact on discourse," said Mr Berkman.
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Berkman → take → discourse
"It's like the government doesn't have to use Parliament for any meaningful debate or to rationalise or justify their position.
"
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government → have → position
One of the most well-reported incidents this year occurred in May when the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleije claimed, without evidence, that at least five MPs were having illicit affairs.
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MPs → report → affairs
The accusations flew during a broader debate about whether two Crisafulli government ministers had properly disclosed their sexual relationship.
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ministers → fly → relationship
After that bruising Question Time, Labor MPs lined up in front of news cameras to put on record they were not sleeping with their workmates.
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they → line → workmates
Most media organisations chose not to name those who had been tarred as philanderers under parliamentary privilege.
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who → choose → privilege
While earlier, similar accusations that day were withdrawn by Mr Bleijie after Speaker Weir intervened following Opposition objections, the final list of those publicly shamed drew no response.
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list → withdraw → response
Hansard records that the Opposition made no objection, so the Speaker was not required to rule on a formal point or order.
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Speaker → record → point
And he took no action himself.
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he → take → action
"He's got the right to say that and make public statements … and I suppose it's up to the public to decide whether they're in the public interest or not," Mr Weir said.
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Weir → get → interest
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
