Extraordinary question time in parliament today. The ALP moved a motion of no further confidence in Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, the first such action since 1949. It's a shame they obviously didn't have the numbers to get it to pass.
I think in politics you need to know when is the right time to criticise your own side. If anything, the ALP has been all too eager to get stuck into itself over the last few years. On the other hand, the Coalition - despite being more bereft of talent than at any point in at least two decades - seems to think its shit doesn't stink. Bishop really is one of the most appallingly partisan Speakers, or simply most appalling Speakers, I can recall, federal or state (or New Zealand). The Speaker should not even really be noticed, yet Bishop continues to interject, shape the course of debate to suit the government, and show the most startling partiality and preference to her party. That's not how the job's done and it would've been nice to see at least a few Liberals willing to say so. I'd like to think all of us would have called out an ALP Speaker if they had behaved like this.
