Michael Sukkar MP

Speech: Nomination of the honourable member for Casey to take the chair as Speaker of the House

That the honourable member for Casey do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

First elected in 2001, the member for Casey has given long years of dedicated service in this House which will, in our view, equip him well to be an outstanding Speaker of this parliament. As he is an electoral neighbour to my electorate of Deakin, I have had the absolute privilege of working very closely with the member for Casey and, in doing so, have seen firsthand the understanding and respect that the honourable member has for our parliament and its traditions and conventions.

The member for Casey has been a fearless advocate for his electorate and has always been dependable and trustworthy. And I must say that on a personal level he is extraordinarily honest—perhaps with one exception. Anyone who knows Tony knows he is an absolute revhead. He is a Holden man through and through. He and I have had many arguments—being a Ford man myself. He is honest to a fault, with one exception. I am very sorry, Tony. My message to Pam, his wonderful wife, is that there have been many occasions when Tony has purchased a car and told you second.

More importantly, all of us who know the member for Casey know that he has a keen intellect and is very well respected by his colleagues on both sides of the chamber. I am therefore extraordinarily confident that Tony Smith has the experience, temperament and strength necessary to instil respect and trust in our parliamentary institutions. So it is a great honour to be able to nominate Tony Smith, the member for Casey, as Speaker.

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