Points of Order — Demonstrations—Access to Buildings

I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I do not want to prolong things, but I want to say that we have had another protest on the forecourt of Parliament today, and there was reasonably heavy security provided for that. The gates were locked and the protestors were contained in a particular space. Whether or not that is a reasonable approach is something people might consider—particularly given the latitude that Mr Donald appeared to have in his protest recently.

But the issue I want to talk about is that members of Parliament, noticing that people in the assembly are friends, or even family in some cases, may wish to invite them to come into the building in small numbers—perhaps for a cup of tea or something—but are unable to do so unless they get your specific approval. That places a difficulty on you, because you have to be around. One of our members yesterday made a request to bring some people in for lunch, but you were unable to respond to him until about 4 o’clock, which created a bit of a difficulty. I wonder whether there might be a more flexible arrangement available whereby members take some responsibility themselves for people they invite into the building.

I thank the member for raising that. I have been following the Speaker’s ruling of 27 July, 1999. It states that any deputation waiting on a Minister or member after a demonstration is limited to six. So that is the approach I have been taking so far. But I am, of course, very happy to reconsider that ruling. If members wish to make a contribution to that consideration, I ask them to put it in writing or to make an appointment to see me.