Parliament is in session this morning, kicking off the second sitting week of the year.
It begins with Speaker Pat Weir giving the Opposition a bit of a talking to about repetitive questions on notice, and reminding everyone of the parameters of debate on bills.
Labor MPs are shifting around their substitute speaker duties, with Ferny Grove MP Mark Furner out and Greenslopes MP Joe Kelly in, Weir says.
We then move into a condolence motion for the former Labor MP for Whitsunday, Lorraine Bird – the first Labor member, and woman, to represent that community.
Premier David Crisafulli passes on the parliament’s condolences to Bird’s family – including her husband John watching from the public gallery – after Bird’s passing on November 17, at the age of 83.
Opposition Leader Steven Miles says Bird won her seat in the Goss landslide of 1989 by just 12 votes.
“Despite this close result, Lorraine was a strong representative and earned the trust and respect of her community going on to serve the people of the Whitsundays for three terms,” Miles said.
Whitsunday LNP MP Amanda Camm, and McConnell Labor MP Grace Grace, note in their speeches they had decided to wear trousers in the chamber today.
“A nod for Lorraine, who, in 1990, after receiving permission from the Speaker, became the first female MP to wear trousers in the Queensland Parliament,” Camm says.
“Now, it may not seem much, but it was another step, as outlined by the Premier and Leader of the Opposition, in the road for women in this house.”
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