Points of Order — Personal Explanations

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I raise a matter with some care, and I think I am raising it within the Standing Orders. I ask you to give advice to the House about when a member ought to give a personal explanation to the whole House, especially when it is partly to protect the reputation of other members. One of my members of Parliament is a member of a select committee at which a matter has arisen that is not open to the public, but the media appears to know all about it. I will not say what the matter is, but I am having MPs being doorstepped and asked whether they are the MP in question or whether they know about the matter.

It appears to me that a member of Parliament who has apparently found himself in a conflict of interest situation has a duty not just to that select committee but to the House as a whole, partly to allow the other members of that committee to be relieved from an intolerable situation. There are media outside this Chamber, I understand, doorstepping MPs coming into the Chamber and asking them for an explanation. A member has the opportunity to make a personal explanation, and in a situation such as that he should make that explanation in the House.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: I thank the member for raising that point of order. It is an important point. I will have a look at it. The background, which I certainly was not aware of, has been indicated to me briefly. Of course, the short answer is that it is up to the member himself, but I will say that I will look at the matter further for the benefit of the House because I think an important point has been raised.

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