Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (11:29): Mr Clerk, I move:

That the honourable member for Mackellar do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

The member for Mackellar's long years of meritorious service in this House and in another place well and truly equip her to be an excellent Speaker of this parliament. As all of us who have known the honourable member well for a long time understand, she is a formidable character, and I can think of no-one more likely to deal with all of the other formidable characters in this place without fear or favour. Bronwyn can do what is necessary to maintain control of what is sometimes an unruly House.

This chamber should always be a place of spirited debate. But it should never be a place where motives are impugned or characters assassinated. When any of us are tempted to be low, mean or petty, the member for Mackellar is well equipped to recall us to our duty. This parliament will be a different one and a better one, I hope. The member for Mackellar loves this parliament. She reveres its traditions, and she has the capacity to help all of us to be at our best. I commend her nomination to the House.

The Clerk: Is the motion seconded?

Mr PYNE (Sturt—Leader of the House and Minister for Education) (11:31): It is my great honour to second the nomination of the member for Mackellar as Speaker of this House. The member for Mackellar was the first member of parliament that I met on my first day in parliament 20½ years ago. I arrived at the Senate chamber to see my great friend Amanda Vanstone. I walked in as a fresh-faced 25-year-old member of parliament like many colleagues on this side of the House and the other side of the House. I came through the doors. I had been questioned by the attendants as to whether I was a member of parliament, because I had left my badge at home in my flat—that is a common occurrence for many new members of parliament—and the first person I ran into was the then Senator Bishop. She clasped me by both forearms, kissed me on both cheeks and said, 'You and I are going to become great friends.' I was a little sceptical at the time!

But 21 years later it is my great privilege and honour to second her nomination as Speaker in this chamber. There is nobody else in this chamber who will do the job as well in the 44th Parliament as Speaker of the House. The member for Mackellar is knowledgeable, experienced, intelligent and effortlessly charming. And she is as tough as a Sherman tank, as she has described herself over the years. In fact, she used to have a model of a Sherman tank on her desk when she was a minister. I hope she will be generous, particularly to her nominator and seconder on this side of the chamber. I expect her to be firm, especially with the opposition. Sometimes, I think, she will be firm with the government—and that will only be because it is appropriate at the time.

Laurie Oakes said in the newspapers on the weekend that it would be a situation of the poacher becoming the gamekeeper for the member for Mackellar to be the Speaker. My advice to the fourth estate is that poachers usually make very good gamekeepers, and I commend her nomination as Speaker of the House.

The Clerk: Does the honourable member for Mackellar accept the nomination?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop: I do.

The Clerk: Is there any further proposal?

Mr KELVIN THOMSON (Wills) (11:34): Mr Clerk, I move:

That the honourable member for McEwen do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

The opposition is not unmindful of the tradition of governments promoting their own for this position, but there is also a strong tradition of oppositions putting forward and supporting their own. There is occasionally a lament that the modern Labor Party no longer has any tradesmen as members of parliament, but the member for McEwen's background with RACV roadside assistance makes him someone about whom this cannot be said—as well as making him a very useful person to know.

He was elected to the Victorian parliament in 2002 as the first Labor MP to represent the Central Highlands Province electorate in the Legislative Council. When he came to this parliament in 2010 he brought with him considerable understanding of regional Victoria. He was a founding member of Victoria's first Community Emergency Response Team and passionately devoted himself to assist the many families in his electorate who were devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. During the last parliament he served on the Speaker's panel, he served as Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia and he served on the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network.

This election for Speaker takes place against a somewhat unfortunate background. After the 2010 election the opposition were aggrieved that they had not won, and, in particular, that the Independents had not supported them. They hoped to make the hung parliament unworkable and to force an early election. They refused, for example, to provide any members for the Speaker's panel and engaged in a parliamentary strategy of havoc, chaos and mayhem. In doing so, they caused some damage to the standing of this parliament. Given that there appeared to be no penalty for this conduct there is some grievance on this side of the House and, of course, the temptation to retaliate in kind. We are, however, aware of the desire of the Australian people that parliamentary standards be improved and that the conduct of members of parliament improve. This is where the role of Speaker is important.

No-one doubts that the member for Mackellar is experienced, but we have experience of her. I think members will understand what I am saying when I say that she is very black and white: there are certainly no shades of grey with her. I understand that it is her intention to continue to attend meetings of her party room. On this side of the House, we are looking for a Speaker who can be even handed, reasonable, capable of seeing the other person's point of view and capable of seeing the other side of the argument. In this respect I commend to the House someone like former Speaker Jenkins, the member for Scullin, who I think was adept at presiding over the House through goodwill and by earning the consent of members rather than through the use of the rule book. In this respect I think that the member for McEwen has the right qualities. He is liked by both sides of the House and is capable of seeing the other person's point of view. Given that he has those qualities I urge the House to support his nomination.

The Clerk: Is the motion seconded?

Mr PERRETT (Moreton) (11:37): I second the nomination. The member for Wills commented about the member for McEwen and the member for Mackellar. This is my third parliament and I have not seen the member for Mackellar in the chair. The member for Wills said that, unfortunately, because of the direction of the then Leader of the Opposition no member of the opposition sat on the Speaker's panel apart from the member for Maranoa, who is a good and honourable man, who sat in the position as Deputy Speaker and did his job admirably. So I did not see the member for Mackellar in the chair in order for me to know how fair she could be. Obviously, a Speaker must be in love with democracy. They cannot use their role as a mechanism to wield power and promote or protect privilege. That is not what this chamber is for. The 150 people elected to this chamber have a solemn duty to their electorates, and that is about democracy. I have never seen the member for Mackellar sitting in the chair and being fair and impartial.

I think the Prime Minister said that the Speaker's role should restore dignity. I take offence at that comment because the 43rd Parliament had dignity.

Government members interjecting—

Mr PERRETT: Just because you did not act in a dignified way does not mean that the parliament did not have dignity. When we unpack democracy we could look at what the nominated members have done. Let us have a look at whether the member for Mackellar followed that great Liberal tradition of looking at the policy and crossing the floor, and we will see whether she is prepared to be bipartisan. I have been in only two parliaments and I have seen only two MPs in this chamber cross the floor on a topic. I think the member for McMillan did it over asylum seekers, and he was rewarded by being totally overlooked. We had the member for Wentworth cross the floor over the ETS, and he was rewarded by being placed on the cover of the Real Solutions brochure. In the other place I saw Senator Sue Boyce cross the floor the day after the member for Warringah was made leader, and she was rewarded by being overlooked and then by being booted out of parliament. I know the member for New England has crossed the floor, and I look forward to seeing how he goes when it comes to voting on GrainCorp. I am sure he will talk tough and walk soft.

Let us look at how the member for Mackellar and the member for McEwen have treated democracy. The best way to analyse it is by looking at how they have voted on legislation that brings votes to the Australian people. Let us look at the 2010 election review, when we tried to get 1.5 million people back onto the electoral roll, and the dissenting report from the member for Mackellar.

I am sorry to say, Member for McEwen, that maybe we should support the member for Mackellar for the sake of the sisterhood rather than you. You have a Y chromosome and she does not. There is a saying that the head slave whips the hardest. Let us have a look at how the member for Mackellar has treated the sisterhood when given the opportunity. When she stood out the front of this place in front of a poster saying, 'Ditch the witch,' and a poster saying, 'Juliar … Bob Brown's bitch,' what did she do? Did she apologise for that? No, she never apologised for that. She actually said that the people who had those signs were good, decent Australians.

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr PERRETT: These are the facts. We are about to make a decision about democracy in this place. I think very seriously about these decisions. Obviously, it is an important role and it is good to have a bit of humour. In the last six years I have seen the member for Mackellar make two good jokes. She made a joke about the size of Julia Gillard's nose. Then she made a joke about the clothes that Julia Gillard wore. The jokes were quite funny, but the humour of someone in the chair needs to have a touch of self-deprecation. I think the member for Mackellar has deprecation down pat. The reality is that we should choose the member for McEwen for the sake of democracy in this chamber.

The Clerk : Does the member for McEwen accept the nomination?

Mr Mitchell: I do.

The Clerk : Is there any further proposal? The time for proposals has expired. In accordance with standing order 11, the bells will be rung and a ballot taken.

The bells having been rung and a ballot having been taken—

The Clerk: The result of the ballot is: Mrs BK Bishop, 93 votes; Mr Mitchell, 56 votes. Mrs BK Bishop is declared elected.

The SPEAKER: I wish to express my grateful thanks for the high honour that has been bestowed on me by the House.

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (12:00): Madam Speaker, on behalf of, I trust, the whole House, and certainly on behalf of the government, I congratulate you on the high office to which you have been elected. Yes, over the years, you have been a very tough politician. But as well as being a very tough politician you are, as was said earlier in this chamber, someone who understands the rhythms of this House, who understands the importance of this chamber in our democracy and who genuinely wants the best for our democracy. You understand that, if this parliament is at its best, our country will be closer to its best. You understand that all of us are called to be better, and you are determined to ensure that this parliament is a better parliament than the one it replaces. I do not attribute blame, unlike perhaps some, for the difficulties and the frustrations of the last parliament. All of us can do better in this parliament than we did in the last parliament. I am determined to do that, I trust that all in this House are determined to do that, and I know that you, Madam Speaker, will hold us to the high standards you have always set in your own life.

Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (12:01): Speaker Bishop, I congratulate you and I wish you well in terms of your tasks for the 44th Parliament. All of us know that you have a fondness—indeed, a forensic passion—for the standing orders. You bring to this House decades of experience. With your capacities, there is no doubt that, within another government, you would have been a very good minister. I trust you to be independent, as you have stated, and I believe that, through carrying out your functions in an independent manner, you will honour the best traditions of the Westminster system. Again, on behalf of the opposition, please accept our congratulations.

Mr TRUSS (Wide Bay—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) (12:02): Madam Speaker, I congratulate you on your election to this office. You have held most positions in this parliament—in the other chamber and here. As a member of the Senate and a member of the House of Representatives you have been a minister and a shadow minister. You have been active in the parliamentary committee system. You have certainly played a major role in the parliament over quite a long period of time. You had five years on the House Standing Committee on Procedure, which would have been an excellent opportunity for you to get the experience you need to grasp how the standing orders work and, no doubt, would have given you some ideas also about how you might like this parliament to work better in the future.

In many ways, in spite of all the things that you have done as a parliamentarian—and you have been well recognised and acknowledged around the country for those achievements—I think you have, in some ways, always been destined to be Speaker; it has certainly been one of your loves. I think it would be a very, very brave member of the parliament who would come to the dispatch box with the House of Representatives Practice under their arm and challenge your rulings; you know every page and, seemingly, every paragraph. I am sure that you will exercise your experience to the benefit of the House.

The last parliament was a challenging time for the Speaker. The fact that there were three Speakers obviously did not help. It was a parliament that I think many of us would like to put behind us. The public expect our parliament to behave better in the future. They want a parliament that is orderly and businesslike. I believe that you have the skills, talent and ability to lead the parliament to aspire to achieve reform and to make sure that the business of the parliament is conducted in an orderly and businesslike manner in the future. It is, of course, up to us as members of parliament to support you in that role so that we can have a parliament that the people of Australia will respect for the 44th class. Congratulations on your election and my very best wishes to you in that role.

Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:04): Speaker Bishop, I rise to add my congratulations on your elevation to the role of Speaker. I know it is a position that you have worked very hard for. I ask one thing of you, and that is that I inherit your copy of the House of Representatives Practice from the last parliament. I have not seen a more dog-eared one, and I think some of the underlinings in it might be instructive! I add my congratulations and I wish you well. I know that Speaker Burke and Speaker Jenkins, and Speaker Slipper before them, had their work cut out for them in the last parliament. I anticipate that you will not have quite the challenges that those three Speakers had, but I hope that, in particular, you will be able to follow the example of Speaker Burke and Speaker Jenkins to deliver unbiased and thoughtful decisions that benefit the dignity of the House.

Mr BANDT (Melbourne) (12:06): Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Greens I extend our congratulations to you. As has been said, in this parliament you may have fewer moments than our previous Speakers where your heart is in your mouth as you wait to see which way the crossbenchers are going to vote on matters of confidence and the like. But I can report from this corner of the chamber that we are still here; reports of the death of the crossbench were remarkably premature! There are five of us in this parliament, compared with the six that were returned at the last parliament. So my one request of you, Madam Speaker, is that, when you look to the right and to the left for people seeking the call, you also look down the middle.

Mr PYNE (Sturt—Leader of the House and Minister for Education) (12:07): Madam Speaker, it is a great pleasure to congratulate you on your election. This is the first time in 21 years that I have had cause to put your name into a ballot. I am very glad that you won it and that you won it so overwhelmingly.

I very much look forward to working with you to make this parliament a better place than the 43rd Parliament, although it is coming off a very low base. Have no doubt that I, as Leader of the House, will do my utmost to ensure that members of the government follow the rules, listen to your rulings, understand the standing orders and make the place run as smoothly and as reasonably as is possible in a robust democracy such as ours. Again, congratulations to you.

Mr BURKE (Watson—Manager of Opposition Business) (12:07): Speaker, congratulations on the role that you have achieved today. This day in parliament, probably more than any other, functions like a first day back at school. People have remarked today about this being reminiscent of the Harry Potter novel in which they all returned to Hogwarts and found that Dumbledore was gone and Dolores Umbridge was in charge of the school.

We have a situation where, for everything that has been said by those opposite about the commitment to the new parliament, a number of very specific commitments to the new parliament were made. Page 167 of House of Representatives Practice refers to the fact that the Speaker is ordinarily nominated by a private member and not by the executive, and certainly not by the Prime Minister. In terms of providing the sort of nonpartisan role the Speaker provides, the opposition does look forward to the commitments made before the election being kept, including that there will be an independent Speaker who will not attend party-room meetings.

The SPEAKER (12:09): I thank honourable members for their comments. In taking this office and being elected to this office, I would say that I consider the office to be one of enormous privilege. When the Prime Minister nominated me, he said that I care passionately for this place. I do. I care passionately for its traditions. I care passionately for what it represents, in looking after the welfare of the people of Australia. So, when we talk about the need for more decorum, what I hope from that is that the people of Australia may see us as upholding their interests in a better way.

I notice the comments made earlier when an alternative candidate for Speaker was nominated. I think perhaps the lesson there is that sometimes you can talk yourself more into trouble than you can out of trouble. But that is not to reflect on the way in which I will be in the chair—I mean to be impartial. The comments I have made about attending party meetings are simply to do with the fact that I am a Liberal. But we do not deal with tactics, and I would not be part of that. In this chair I will act impartially. That is a responsibility that goes back to 1377.

I am delighted to say that I did not have to struggle too much today, because the welfare of Speakers has improved markedly over that period. It is part of the tradition that we do indeed show that in that struggle there were previous Speakers who, in acting as the interlocutor between the monarch and the parliament, perhaps either ended up in the Tower of London or lost their heads.

Can I say also that, when we make analogies to the parliament, I regard this as a strong and robust place of debate. It is not a classroom and it is not a polite debating society. It is a place where we fight for ideas, and the width of that table is symbolic in that we do not use weapons such as swords and we do not use fisticuffs. But we do use words. Sometimes we use them harshly, and we have standing orders that apply to that. As we go forward in this parliament, I do hope that we will raise our stakes in the eyes of the people for the peace, order and good government of the people of Australia.

Just for the record, the mode of address I would expect to receive is Madam Speaker. I also intend perhaps to revive a couple of the other niceties we have used from time to time, but we will see how that goes.

Can I end by simply saying that I am delighted to have my family present in the gallery today. I also am very honoured to have had friends come today. It is for me, I think, the capping of my career. It is true that I am the first woman from the conservative side of politics to have held this role. We have had two from the Labor side, and I pay respect to Anna Burke for the job she did.

In relation to words said about the sisterhood, I say that I have never, ever put myself forward other than to say, 'I am the best person for the job.' I hope that is the reason that 93 people voted for me today.

I will conclude by saying that there will be times when there will be turbulence and there will be times when we can feel that the heat and the anger of the place rises. It will be my job to try to keep order whilst the place remains one for robust discussion of ideas and competing ideas.

I thank the House for the vote I have received. I am here to serve in the traditions of the parliament.

The SPEAKER (15:17): Her Excellency also presented to me an authority to administer to members the oath or affirmation of allegiance. I now lay the authority on the table.

Mr TRUSS (Wide Bay—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) (17:00): I move:

That Mr B.C.Scott be elected Deputy Speaker of this House.

It is my great pleasure to nominate my friend and colleague the member for Maranoa for the position of Deputy Speaker. Bruce Scott is my electorate neighbour. We came into the parliament at the same time and I have very much admired his contribution to the parliament over the years. He has a very large electorate—almost three-quarters of a million square kilometres touching the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales borders. Of course he has already served in this House with distinction as Deputy Speaker since 2012, and it is testament to the member for Maranoa that he was nominated for that post by the member for Sturt and seconded by the then Independent member for New England. I am sure that the new member for New England will be equally enthusiastic about the appointment of the member for Maranoa to this position.

The member for Maranoa brought dignity to the chair and a wealth of experience—experience gained also from the earlier time that he had spent as Second Deputy Speaker from 2008 and, earlier than that, from 2002 to 2007 as a member of the Speaker's panel. So he is a veteran of this House and its procedures in both government and opposition. Earlier he had served as a minister, for 5½ years, in the Veterans' Affairs portfolio and also as Assistant Minister for Defence. The Veterans' Affairs portfolio can be quite a difficult one, but he met those challenges with a great degree of enthusiasm, and Bruce and Joan were very popular figures in the veteran community during his time in that office. He delivered benefits to 350,000 veterans based on world's best practice medicine and delivery of services. He also introduced the highly successful Their Service—Our Heritage commemorative program and oversaw the upgrading and expansion of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. He even gave the vets Viagra!

Beyond his parliamentary career, Bruce came to the parliament with a history of service to primary industry as a merino wool and prime lambs producer and an industry leader. I am certain that, as Deputy Speaker, he would be a person that you, Madam Speaker, could rely on. He would greatly support you in your task of restoring respect and dignity to the chair and of course to the House. It is with great pleasure that I nominate Bruce Scott for a return to the position of Deputy Speaker.

Mr COULTON (Parkes—The Nationals Chief Whip) (17:03): It is my honour to second the nomination of the member for Maranoa as Deputy Speaker. The Leader of The Nationals certainly summed up the qualifications of Mr Bruce Scott for this job. As an indication of the size of his electorate, not only is he a neighbour of the member for Wide Bay but also his electorate adjoins my electorate for about 400 or 500 kilometres along the Queensland-New South Wales border. Bruce Scott is eminently suitable for this job because, while he is a man of Western Queensland—a man for the Maranoa and places like Birdsville—he is very much at home in this chamber. He honours the traditions of this place, and it is great testament to him that he can be just as at home in the Birdsville pub as in the chair of this chamber. I have great pleasure in seconding the nomination from the Leader of The Nationals for the member for Maranoa to be Deputy Speaker.

Mr KELVIN THOMSON (Wills) (17:04): I move:

That Mr Mitchell be elected Deputy Speaker of this House.

In speaking to the motion I want to extend my congratulations to you, Madam Speaker, on your election earlier today. There were fewer swinging voters than I might have hoped for, but I wish you well in taking on your very important role.

I have extolled the virtues of the member for McEwen previously today and I will not needlessly detain the House by repeating them, although the member for McEwen said it would be all right with him if I did. In moving this motion I intend no disrespect to the member for Maranoa. The House will understand that this is a ballot for two positions—it is an 'every player gets a prize' ballot. The member for Maranoa is well respected by people on this side of the House for his extensive service on the Speaker's panel—indeed, he was the only member from the opposition side of the parliament who served as a member of the Speaker's panel, and we would have been happy to have seen him put forward earlier today. Indeed, not only is he well supported on this side of the House; he is strongly supported by his own electorate and is well able to repel challengers from both our side and closer to home. I am not suggesting that I would encourage my colleagues to vote for him, by the way, but I do wish him all the best as well as wishing the member for McEwen all the best in taking on the important roles which they are soon to undertake.

Mr PERRETT (Moreton—Government Whip) (17:06): Madam Speaker, I too add my congratulations to you on achieving the position of Speaker. I wish you well in this role and I am sure that you will maintain the dignity and respect of the chair vacated by the member for Chisholm—not reinstate but maintain the dignity of that chair—and I am sure that you will do noble deeds with wisdom, good humour and tolerance. And, perhaps, in the light of earlier comments, your memory on occasion might be a little bit patchy, hopefully!

I second the motion put forward by the member for Wills that the member for McEwen be elected Deputy Speaker. But I do respectfully disagree with the member for Wills on one thing. I know the member for Maranoa's seat very well. I grew up in St George; it is my home town. In fact, I went out to St George after the election and formed a new branch of the Australian Labor Party there, and they were jubilant because they had actually—

The SPEAKER: I think it would be a good idea to return to the motion.

Mr PERRETT: knocked two per cent off the member for Maranoa's margin. That is the reason I want to put forward the member for McEwen for Deputy Speaker—because the member for McEwen represents a marginal seat, and a marginal seat brings a certain perspective to the parliament. With all respect to you, Madam Speaker, and to the member for Maranoa, it does bring a different relationship. I have been often been told by the member for Sturt—he assured me at each election—that I would not be here after the next election. He assured me. He even said it on the record—

The SPEAKER: The member will return to the subject matter of the motion.

Mr PERRETT: I put forward the idea that the member for McEwen can maintain the dignity and respect of the chair. It would also let the member for Maranoa concentrate on his electorate—defending that margin—where the Labor Party has taken a bit of skin off him.

The member for McEwen would obviously provide a lot of experience, having sat on the Speaker's panel previously. His becoming Deputy Speaker would be in keeping with the document signed by the member for Sturt saying that the Deputy Speaker should actually be a member of the opposition—a piece of paper by the member for Sturt, in writing, said that the Deputy Speaker should be from the opposition. In that context, obviously the Deputy Speaker should be the member for McEwen. We should honour that piece of writing put forward by the member for Sturt. I would be happy to table that document signed by the member for Sturt. It is in writing. It would be a great gesture from the Prime Minister and from you, Madam Speaker, to indicate a new spirit of bipartisanship in this 44th Parliament. I do not in any way mean to detract from the qualities of the member for Maranoa; he is a gentleman, someone that I trust. I was at the theatre with him last weekend, in fact. Sorry to say that, Member for Maranoa! I would ask you and all of your colleagues to support the nomination of the member for McEwen because he would bring great vitality to the role. He has, occasionally, been thrown out of the parliament, but only two times in the 43rd Parliament. As you well know, Madam Speaker, being thrown out two times in the 43rd Parliament, in a robust parliament, is not a stain on his character at all. So I would ask members to consider the member for McEwen as Deputy Speaker rather than the member for Maranoa.

The SPEAKER: I am sure the member for McEwen is grateful for your intervention. The time for nominations has expired. In accordance with standing order 11, the bells will be rung and a ballot will be taken.

The bells having been rung and a ballot having been taken—

The SPEAKER: Order! The result of the ballot for the election of Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker is that Mr Scott, with 91 votes, will serve as Deputy Speaker and Mr Mitchell, with 56 votes, will serve as Second Deputy Speaker.

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (17:26): Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate both Mr Scott and Mr Mitchell on their election to the great office of the deputy speakership. I know that both of them will discharge their duties with diligence and with competence. I know that both of them will work to support you in your high office. I know that you will not need to be supported in many respects, but you will certainly love the encouragement that they will both give you, and it is nice to think that there will be some collegiality in the office of the Speaker. So, Madam Speaker, I think you can be confident that the speakership, one way or another, whoever is in the chair, will be well and truly discharged in the 44th Parliament.

Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (17:27): I too, on behalf of the opposition, would like to extend my congratulations to the member for Maranoa and also to the member for McEwen. Without doubt, the member for Maranoa is very experienced. He served on the Speaker's panel in the 42nd Parliament. He was Second Deputy Speaker in the 43rd Parliament. He served as Deputy Speaker. I am pleased to also see that he is still in the parliament and that obviously his local members of the National Party had a great deal of confidence in him and reselected him—a choice I can understand. He is well respected across the parties. Member for Maranoa, we would also like you to please pass on our thanks to Joan for yet again lending you to this parliament to serve in this capacity.

As for my friend the member for McEwen, where do I start?

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr SHORTEN: No, no, there is more. He has a more varied CV than most. Not only has he served in the state parliament of Victoria but he has been a mechanic—as we have heard. He has been a tow truck operator. He even was an apprentice bookmaker. I think this breadth of tasks and occupations will suit him as he deals with the disparate personalities in this House of Representatives. He has also served on the Speaker's panel, so he will do well. As with the member for Maranoa, I also ask the member for McEwen to please extend to Lisa too our gratitude that she has lent you to this parliament for this term. The opposition congratulates both.

Mr TRUSS (Wide Bay—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) (17:28): Madam Speaker, I am happy to join with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to congratulate the member for Maranoa and the member for McEwen on being elected as deputy speakers of the parliament. The team offer to the parliament experience in the chair and a willingness and determination, I am sure, to make the parliament ahead work just as smoothly and as constructively as it possibly can.

I am aware that you and the Second Deputy Speaker have, from time to time, tasted the ire of some of your predecessors, so you are well skilled in the tricks of the trade. I am certain that that will hold you in good stead as you strive to keep order and make sure that the business of the House is transacted in an orderly way. Congratulations on your election. You can be assured of the cooperation of the House in your high office.

Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (17:30): I also want to congratulate the member for Maranoa, an old and good friend. He is someone, I know, who is well supported by his electorate because of the very hard work he does driving around those vast areas supporting the communities that he looks after. I congratulate him on his election; I look forward to working well with him.

The member for McEwen is a dear friend to all of us on this side of the chamber. His gregarious character belies his hidden depths. I know that the member for McEwen will do an excellent job in his new role.

Mr BANDT (Melbourne) (17:30): On behalf of the Greens—and probably on behalf of other members of the crossbench—I congratulate both members on their election. Having seen them both in operation in a previous parliament I am sure that the crossbench will continue to get a good run under their deputy speakerships.

Mr KATTER (Kennedy) (17:31): I want to make it perfectly clear, with due deference to my colleague, that the Greens are not speaking for Katter's Australian Party. Madam Speaker, we congratulate you on your appointment to the position. Having dealt with you on many occasions I expect to be thrown out grossly more times than in the past. You are not a person given to equivocation, so we look forward to very fiery and interesting debates in the next three years.

I would have liked some of the ALP people to have had a chance in the Speaker's chair but apparently they will get the No. 3 spot. You will have to settle for that, fellas! I say, in all sincerity—I have spent 40 years in parliament—that Speaker Jenkins was very fair. I can remember—I will be game to put this on record—that my great leader, a man I had immense admiration for, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, when instructing a new Speaker said: 'None of this fairness! It is not about being fair in this place.' I think we can go forward from there. Much as I loved and greatly revered my Premier, I do not think that that is where we want to be going in this parliament.

Mr BRUCE SCOTT (Maranoa—Deputy Speaker) (17:32): First of all, I congratulate you, Madam Speaker, on the very high office that you have been elected to today. I noticed your lack of reluctance to be dragged to the chair—the Speaker is, traditionally, reluctant—but I know that you are going to fulfil this role with great dignity through your great capacity and through your knowledge of the procedures of the House.

I also acknowledge and congratulate the member for McEwen. We have worked together on the Speaker's panel during past parliaments. Numbers count in this place, but I know that, as he fulfils his role as Second Deputy Speaker, the member for McEwen will cooperate with me and with the Speaker.

I thank my nominators, the Deputy Prime Minister and the member for Parkes. They are both in neighbouring electorates and I thank them for their very generous comments. I also acknowledge the comments of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. I also thank them for recognising my dear wife, who is able to join us in the chamber today. As the Leader of the Opposition said, in this place our partners, wives or husbands, lend us to this place, because being here is a strain on families. I share this moment of great tradition with my family. The privilege of representing the seat of Maranoa in this place comes at a price for the family, and I know I could not have done it without the support of my wife.

I also have in the chamber today my daughter and son-in-law, my chief of staff and my media adviser. It is wonderful to be able to share this moment with the people who have been so supportive throughout my parliamentary career. It is not easy for any of them, including my staff, so it is wonderful to have them here to share this very proud moment.

The Governor-General said, in the Senate this afternoon, that there is a new page being turned on this 44th Parliament. It really is in the hands of each of us. If we want the respect of our electorates and the people of Australia, who are demanding high standards and a change of conduct—I will put it that way—we should realise that it is in our hands. I can assure you that I will do my part working with you, Madam Speaker, and the Second Deputy Speaker to make sure that we allow robust debate but that there is civility in the chamber, because the population of Australia is looking forward to an improvement on what they may have seen in years past. I will do my utmost to make judgements in this place that are fair, equitable and even handed.

Again, I thank members in this place for the confidence that they have shown in me. I take it as an enormous privilege to serve as the Deputy Speaker and I once again thank all those who have made very kind comments about me, my wife Joan and my family, who share in this proud moment.

Mr MITCHELL (McEwen) (17:36): I, too, rise to thank the House for the support and for the opportunity to be Second Deputy Speaker in the 44th Parliament. I look forward to working closely with you, Madam Speaker, and with the Deputy Speaker to soak up the experience of your knowledge and your years of wisdom in this place. I hope to get in before the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and grab that dog-eared book; I think it would be better for me than her. I want to thank the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Greens for their words. It is a very humbling position to be put in, and I look forward to carrying it out to the best of my abilities to ensure that this place is run fairly and equally and that we have good, robust debate in a very well-mannered way. We need to make sure that the House runs properly and runs with the support of all members of the parliament.

Mr PYNE (Sturt—Leader of the House and Minister for Education) (18:14): I present a chart showing the program of sittings for the remainder of 2013. Copies of the program have been placed on the table. By leave, I move:

That the program of sittings for 2013 be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

House adjourned at 18:16