Thursday 6 May 2021

 It is time for Speaker Trevor Mallard to go. His extraordinary conduct in Parliament this week in defence of false rape allegations he made against a Parliamentary staffer not only further demean himself, but also Parliament as a whole. For the sake of Parliament’s reputation, if not his own rapidly diminishing credibility, he needs to go, and quickly. 

The role of Parliament’s Speaker is a crucial one within our Parliamentary system. It is normally held by a senior Member of Parliament, more often than not from the government party, who has a measure of respect from all sides of the House. Because of the nature of the role, the Speaker needs to demonstrate impartiality, good judgement, and fairness, topped off by a calm temperament, and an extraordinary level of patience and good humour. The Speaker also needs to maintain the confidence of the House as a whole, not just the government majority, to be able to operate effectively, and gain the co-operation of Members. 

Few Speakers achieve all of these requirements. But most have enough of the skill-set to be able to operate constructively, albeit on occasions with the most grudging support of the non-government side of the House. 

Mr Mallard is the exception. Despite being a very long-serving Member of the House, he possesses none of the tact and sensitivity good Speakers need to gain the respect and co-operation of all parties in the House. Mr Mallard’s political style has always been brutal, confrontational and uncompromisingly partisan, useful attributes for the cut and thrust of normal government/opposition politics, but never desirable qualities in a person chosen to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

The manifestations to date of Mr Mallard’s temperamental unsuitability to be Speaker have focused around his management of the House, particularly Question Time. While there has been an edge to them, they have, by and large, been the standard complaints all Oppositions have from time to time, that they are not getting what they would regard as a fair deal from the Speaker. Although Mr Mallard’s irascibility and rudeness has been causing this traditional friction to be more tense than usual, the situation, although increasingly difficult, was not out of control – until this week’s events. 

The controversy surrounding Mr Mallard’s handling of sexual abuse allegations, including his false rape claim, has been around for some time. It was brought closer to a head recently with the revelations of the substantial legal bills the taxpayer has already met as a consequence of his remarks. Mr Mallard had always said he would answer his critics and offer a full explanation at the appropriate time in Parliament. That time was this week. 

Those who may have expected the Speaker to have provided a reasoned, factual and possibly contrite explanation of his conduct and the reasons for his claims were completely off the mark. True to form, Mr Mallard’s response was defiant, aggressive, belligerent and intolerant of any criticism. His remarks were highly personalised towards those National MPs who had been raising the issue in recent months, and went way beyond what anyone might have imagined the reasonable response of a Speaker would be in such circumstances. 

But herein lies the problem and the reason why Mr Mallard can no longer continue as Speaker. The Opposition has been expressing “no confidence” in the Speaker for some time, but given the Prime Minister’s unwavering support of him and the government’s strong majority in the House, it has been comparatively easy to date to brush that criticism aside as just another disgruntled Opposition grizzling. 

However, the visceral and highly personal nature of Mr Mallard’s response changes all that. Now, there can be no doubt that, having showed his true colours so clearly, the Speaker lacks the capacity to deal with the Opposition impartially and fairly that his position requires. In turn, that creates a significant problem for the government and the Prime Minister in particular. To date, her position – correctly – has been that the choice of Speaker is a matter for Parliament, not her, to resolve, since the Speaker is elected by Parliament, not appointed by the Prime Minister. 

Mr Mallard’s behaviour this week puts both the government and the Prime Minister in a bind. If they do nothing and continue to stand by him, they will be effectively condoning his conduct. But it would be an unprecedented step for the government to support a vote of no-confidence in the Speaker. At the same time, given her long and frequently professed commitment to a kinder, gentler style of politics, the Prime Minister will be aware of the potential long-term cost to her own reputation of continuing to be seen remaining so closely tied to a Speaker who is so clearly neither of those things. 

Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House have now spoken out against the Speaker’s conduct after this week’s Parliamentary events, although both say still they have confidence in the Speaker. These are at best holding statements. They sound remarkably like the start of the time-honoured political tactic of slowly but firmly pulling the rug out from under someone. It is the way you withdraw confidence in someone, without formally doing so. You cannot credibly carry on indefinitely being critical of a person’s conduct on the one hand, while continuing to express confidence in them on the other. Once the Prime Minister expressed “serious concerns” about his conduct, Mr Mallard was effectively left with nowhere else to go. It is not just a matter of Mr Mallard’s credibility any more – the Prime Minister has now placed hers on the line as well. Mr Mallard cannot win against that. 

In such situations, the person concerned is usually allowed a quiet time of reflection before announcing they have decided, as they always intended, that it is now time for them to move on to pursue those other interests they really have always wanted to. For the sake of Parliament, and the credibility of the Prime Minister he has served so loyally, Mr Mallard must now come to that realisation quickly – and resign.

 

 

    

 

 

 

15 comments:

  1. Sad really. I have always found Trevor to be approachable. But he has really turned into a grumpy old man. The Government has some MPs who would make a much better job of this. Yep time to go

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really want to thank Dr Emu for saving my marriage. My wife really treated me badly and left home for almost 3 month this got me sick and confused. Then I told my friend about how my wife has changed towards me. Then she told me to contact Dr Emu that he will help me bring back my wife and change her back to a good woman. I never believed in all this but I gave it a try. Dr Emu casted a spell of return of love on her, and my wife came back home for forgiveness and today we are happy again. If you are going through any relationship stress or you want back your Ex or Divorce husband you can contact his whatsapp +2347012841542 or email emutemple@gmail.com website: Https://emutemple.wordpress.com/

      Delete
  2. POWERFUL SPELL CASTER THAT BROUGHT MY EX HUSBAND BACK INTO MY LIFE AFTER HE LEFT ME EMAIL HIM VIA EMAIL INFINITYLOVESPELL@GMAIL.COM OR INFINITYLOVESPELL@YAHOO.COM ADD HIM ON WHATSAPP +2348118829899
     
    Hello my fellow friends online I'm Diana Gilbert from USA, I want to use this medium to thank Dr Great because he brought back my Ex husband. my husband left me for his ex girlfriend he had before he married me it's a difficult situation for me I called and beg him to come back he refused he said he don't love me anymore I tried every possible way to get him back all was in vain I told my friend about it and she gave me Dr Great email and I emailed him and told him my problem and he told me what to do and I did it and he cast a love spell which brought back my husband within 24 hours. If you need help in getting back together with your Ex, email Dr Great at
     
    infinitylovespell@gmail.com or infinitylovespell@yahoo.com 

    WhatsApp him +2348118829899 

    view his blog http://infinitylovespell1.blogspot.com

    you can also visit my blog http://dianagilbert05.over-blog.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, is a true life experience is not designed to convince you its a personal health experience, sometimes medical doctors take a different approach about herpes treatment. i has been stocked in bondage with herpes for two years and four months i has tried different means to eliminate this sickness because it surely has distract me even with the world, and i was told there is no cure, but only medicine for treatment all the possible ways i has tried was treatment, two months back i did some herpes research and i found amazing testimonies concerning natural herbal cure, and i go for it through the email address from the post just to give a try of herbal treatment, and i found it grate without delay i got cured with natural treatment from doc Twaha herbal cure his cure are powerful and shows out excellent result. and i think everyone suffering with herpes and others symptoms should also know about this cure from, drlregbeyen10000@gmail.com or WhatsApp him +2349038518881 thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks to great Dr Agbonhale that i met on this site, i was an HPV victim. i had it for over four years i do visit hospital always before. I was just at the point of death with shame after i have lost everything in life even my love one until my close relative direct me to this site to look for great Dr Agbonhale . It so amazing to see my self back to my feet with every thing i have lost. i am very happy because Dr Agbonhale did not only cure my sickness but he restructure my life by bringing back my ex and every thing i lost to the course of this sickness(HPV). i do not really know where to start from in appreciating you Dr Agbonhale. please my people out there do not play with your problem go out and seeks for the help of great Dr Agbonhale herbal healing, he healed me without future problem or hidden charges. now i am free from HPV and My ex, my joy and happiness are back. please with out a second choice go contact great Dr Agbonhale for the betterment of your life. CONTACT HIM VIA EMAIL;dragbonhaleherbalhome@gmail.com or whatsapp number +2349073130326.   

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was diagnosed with herpes virus and I was told there was no cure except medication that can control it, I totally lost hope, all I could think was losing my life because I was so depressed and confused about the whole situation , few weeks ago I read about Dr Oso online how he cured someone from cancer which was guaranteed, but i never still believe on it but i decided to give a try on him so I ordered the medicine after using it for few days i started experiencing changes all over me so i waited until i finish using the medication, so after everything I went for blood test to confirm if i am really healed from this virus to my greatest surprise it came out negative i jump up and shattered oh my goodness what a wonderful miracle i never believed in . I am so excited to share my testimony. Thank you so much Dr Oso . You are a great man. I must tell everyone I know who has any kind of disease or virus. you can also email him on via drosohaberhome@gmail.com or Call/WhatsApp +2348162084839

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know of a group of private investigators who can help you with they are also hackers but prefer to be called private investigators They can help with your bitcoin issues and your clients will be happy doing business with you,they can also help yo with your bad credit score and you wil live a better life
    Contact +1(407) 777-4240
    Premiumhackservices@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

  7. First, I want to complement this page administrator for creating this platform for us to express our feelings. Herpes is a serious and recurring disease which can't be cured through drugs or injections by the American doctors but the best way to deal with herpes is by taking natural herbs medicine from DR. ISHIAKU the greatest herbalist doctor in the world and is only few American doctors that know about this herbal medicine from Dr ISHIAKU .. I have read about Dr ISHIAKU the great herbalist doctor from African who can cure disease with his powerful herbal medicine. for the people suffering from the following diseases, Herpes,HIV/Aids, Hepatitis, Diabetes, Hpv, Infections ETC should contact him for his herbal medicine because i am a living testimony and i was cured of herpes. Although, i sent him what he requested and he sent me his medicine through DHL courier delivery company which i took for some weeks and when I went for the test, i was tested for herpes negative. you can reach him through his email: ishiakuherbalcure@yahoo.com WhatsApp him at +2348180828544

    ReplyDelete
  8. THERE IS CURE FOR HERPES VIRUS. This has been a great opportunity for me to speak about Doctor Ishiaku concerning his HERBAL MEDICINE for the cure of HERPES VIRUS. I am a living proof of the cure, it is not a story any more, thank God i gave him a try to cure me, i was confirm 100% negative after the usage of the herbal medicine, it is like a dream to me that Doctor Ishiaku herbal medicine could cure herpes virus to 100% negative, before i proceed further let me quickly share his contact to the general public so anyone suffering from this virus can also have an opportunity like this to be cured. ( what - sapp + 2348180828544) or (email: ishiakuherbalcure@yahoo.com) .Please let every Herpes patient give herbal medicine a try. It works perfectly well. don't be deceived any more that there is no cure. This herbal medicine was shipped from Africa to me here in the United State by DHL. I am so happy to have seen my health and life back to normal. Thank you Doctor Ishiaku

    ReplyDelete
  9. Are you desperately wondering, "How to get your husband\wife back?" after much time has passed without your lover coming back to you? Right now you are stuck in a very desperate situation, as your mind feels exhausted, while your body is willing to go to any extent to get your lover back why not contact Dr. Abolo spell whose email is: Abolospell@gmail.com and get that your relationship restored within a lightning speed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was diagnosed of HERPES Virus in 2019 and I have tried all I can to get cured but all to no avail, until i saw a post in a health forum about a herbalist man who prepare herbal medication to cure all kind of diseases including HERPES virus, at first i doubted if it was real but decided to give it a try , when i contact this herbalist and he prepared a HERPES herbal cure and sent it to me via FEDEX delivery company service, when i received this herbal cure, he gave me step by directions on how to apply it, when i applied it as instructed, i was totally cured of this horrible disease within 14days of usage, i went to the hospital for a test and it was negative. I can tell the public now that I am now free from the horrible disease called herpes, all thanks to Dr.OLIHA that is why I want to leave his email address and What's app contact just if you want to contact him for help. you reach this great herbal doctor via his call or WhatsApp on +2349038382931 email on (oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com) website on: https://olihamiraclemedicine.webs.com/ ....

    ReplyDelete
  11. ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : One Piece
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : Profil
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : Resep
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : One Piece
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : Paling Luas
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : One Piece
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : One Piece
    ጥሩ ድር ጣቢያ : One Piece

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello, I am 25 years old and I first found out I had herpes 3 years ago. My first outbreak was definitely the worst thing I ever experienced. The bumps and blisters were swollen and red. I had a doctor give me Valtrex but I take the generic. I love the Valtrex because I take 1 gram a day for about a week and it's gone. I had a doctor prescribe me Acyclovir but that gave me the worst headaches ever, so I stopped taking it. Since I was first diagnosed I have about 2 outbreaks a year. I have been able to cope with this by having supportive family and friends who look out for me. Even though I wish I never had this disease at all, I’m able to deal with it and have a great life. A friend advised me to use herbal medicine and sent me an email (dandancure787@gmail.com) who was able to help me put an end to the herpes virus. Today I am so happy and totally free in case you need urgent help to email him for a fast cure. (dandancure787@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Herpes cure Testimony I was diagnose with Genital Herpes for the past 6 years and I have been searching for cure. I have several outbreaks on my back and it really affected me morally, I read a testimony on this platform of a lady from Nevada who was cured from Diabetes with Dr Moi Usman Herbal medicine including the doctor official email address. I contacted the doctor through his email, after much discussion and few questions he prepared the Herbal medicine and asked for my address which I received the Herbal medicine days later and with his prescription I drank the Herbal medicine for 3 weeks. After concluding the herbal medicine I went for test and my IgG result was confirmed Negative with no trace of the virus on my blood. Contact Dr Moi and be cured his email: dr_moisolutiontemple@yahoo.com Whatsapp him Directly Through +254772376126
    He has Herbal cure for Diabetes, Hepatitis, Heart diseases.
    Hypertension, Strokes and Liver disease,Fibroid,Cancer,Asthma,Leukemia, Epilepsy,Menopause diseases

    ReplyDelete
  14. After my husband of 16 years broke up with me, I could barely speak without crying. I felt blindsided and didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I could get him back and the anxiety was unbearable. I contacted Dr Ozigidon on Whats-App via [+2349054750112], not knowing fully what to expect but knowing I needed somebody who had been there for others before. I wanted our marriage back and so I wanted to make sure I had all the guidance and resources possible to do that. Dr Ozigidon was simply wonderful. His presence is calming and I could tell that he genuinely cared. With his powerful spell he suggested I do to get [my husband] back seemed difficult. But I knew I wanted to get him back, so I followed and did all that was required for the spell that Dr Ozigidon laid out for me. Within the week, we were back together as easily as I never thought and we are so in love! I know that it doesn't always happen that quickly, in my case, it could happen that soon - and it did! I'm so grateful and can say that if you have been broken up with and want to get that person back, Dr Ozigidon is the best! I'll never forget how much he helped me! His email: [drozigidonhenz.spell.net@gmail.com]

    ReplyDelete