Speaker Suspends Mr Wellington (Press, 24 October 1985)
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Summary: Speaker Suspends Mr Wellington (Press, 24 October 1985)
On 24 October 1985, Opposition member Mr Merv Wellington was suspended from Parliament for 24 hours after he refused to apologise for derogatory comments made about two Labour MPs, Bill Dillon and Trevor Mallard. The incident occurred during the discussion of the Hamilton City Council (Rating Relief) Empowering Bill. Following a warning from the Speaker, Dr Wall, about his remarks calling the Labour members “political louts,” Mr Wellington defied the order to apologise and remained in the chamber, stating he would not apologise to either the Speaker or the two Labour members. Dr Wall subsequently called for a motion to suspend Mr Wellington, citing the House's rules which dictate that a first-time offender in a Parliamentary session may be suspended for a single day. Mr Wellington's refusal to comply led to tensions in the chamber, as Opposition members raised multiple points of order during the interim period until dinner adjournment. Despite being suspended, Mr Wellington was seen reading a newspaper, indicating his disregard for the situation. Post-dinner, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr McLay, attempted to defend Mr Wellington's rights by suggesting that Parliament had procedures—referred to as a “sin bin”—which would allow suspended members to vote while remaining absent from the chamber. However, Dr Wall deemed Mr McLay's questioning of his ruling as “grossly disorderly,” leading to Mr McLay being asked to leave the chamber temporarily. The motion to suspend Mr Wellington passed with a vote of 46 to 32, reflecting a partisan divide in support for the Speaker's authority. After receiving his suspension, Mr Wellington returned to the chamber seeking to continue his speech on the bill but was unable to do so as the motion to suspend also prohibited his participation in parliamentary proceedings during the suspension period.
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