MP thrown out of Parliament

By Kath Gannaway
MCEWEN MP Fran Bailey has again been asked to leave the room during Parliamentary debate.
Ms Bailey was ejected from the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the second time in three months she has been “sin binned”.
Ms Bailey was asked to leave during question time for what she said was no more than standing up for local communities in their battle against rogue water trading policies of the Federal and State governments.
The order by the Speaker for Ms Bailey to have an hour’s break, came after she interjected during Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s response to a question on the Murray-Darling Basin during Question Time.
Mr Garrett’s response included comments on what he said was 12 years of inaction by the previous government of which Ms Bailey was a member.
Ms Bailey challenged what she said were “teamroller tactics from Environment Minister Peter Garrett to ram the Rudd Government’s flawed Water Amendment Act through Parliament”.
She was asked by the Speaker to come to order and warned following a further interjection before being asked to leave.
“This is typical of the bullying tactics of the Rudd and Brumby Labor Governments who ignore community and scientific opinion in bulldozing ahead with the North-South Pipeline,” Ms Bailey said.
Ms Bailey had, the day before, read a Private Members Bill which she said would give the Prime Minister and Environment Minister Peter Garrett a opportunity to distance themselves from what she labelled the bullying of country Victoria by Premier John Brumby.
She said she would continue to champion the views of local communities.
“Our communities are hurting and the least I can do is make sure they continue to have a champion for their views in Canberra,” she said.