Motions — Ollie Langridge Climate Emergency Protest, 100 Days—Leave Declined

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion without notice and without debate to acknowledge 100 days of Ollie Langridge standing on Parliament’s lawn, calling on this House to declare a climate emergency.

I just want to check that it’s been worked around the parties [Interruption] It has. Is there any objection to that? There appears to be none [Interruption] There is objection. When I asked if it had been worked around the parties, I got a positive response. The implication of that generally is—

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.

—let me finish; I’ll stand up I have to—that it’s got approval. I will stand up. Back in the period—I think I’m now the only member in the House, today, who was part of the arrangement—members used to be able to stand up and seek leave to move notices of all sorts of things, and it would often go on for a quarter of an hour or 20 minutes. It was a decision that that didn’t add to the order of the place; it added to the excitement, but not the order. There was a decision made in the mid-1980s that, in fact, that practice would stop. Now, in recent times it has crept back in a little bit, but Speakers before me have ruled that leave to be sought of that type should be cleared with other parties first to make sure that, in fact, the approval will be granted, and that when it’s done without that occurring, it is disorderly. Now, I haven’t made this sort of ruling before, but I do want to make it clear to members now that while, generally, members can seek leave for anything at any time, there are a few exceptions to that. Seeking leave for something which a member knows will not be granted is, in fact, disorderly.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Speaking to the point of order.

No, there is not a point of order any more. I’ve ruled.