Ms MACKLIN (3:36 PM) —Mr Speaker, I want to raise with you a concern that the Minister for Health and Aged Care has interfered with the independent operation of the Parliamentary Library. My officer tried to check the nature of the appointment of Mr Buntine as chair or acting chair of the Health Insurance Commission, as a replacement for Dr Barry Catchlove, who resigned last year in the midst of the MRI scan scam. The Parliamentary Library advised that this information was contained in the government Gazette.

Mr Reith —I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Snowdon —This is a question to the Speaker. Sit down!

Mr Reith —I am entitled to make a point of order and I am making one.

Mr SPEAKER —The chair is not being facilitated by the member for the Northern Territory, who has already been warned, or by other members on my left.

Mr Reith —Mr Speaker, my point of order is that, if people want to make all sorts of allegations, there are proper forms of the House. Under the standing orders, people are not entitled to make accusations in the guise of a question. If she has accusations, she should put them in writing.

Mr O'Keefe —Mr Speaker, on a point of order: it has been your consistent practice when members of this side raise points of order to require the standing order under which they are made to be stated. There was no standing order covering the point of order made then by the Leader of the House.

Mr SPEAKER —I wish the member for Burke were right. The member for Jagajaga indicated that she had a question to me. If she has a question about Library policy, as Chairman of the Library Committee I will take it up. It would be helpful if she were to come to her question and, if she has detailed concerns, to submit them to me in addition to the question.

Ms MACKLIN —Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to make sure that you—

Mr Tuckey —No, you just want to malign somebody!

Mr SPEAKER —The Minister for Forestry and Conservation is warned! The member for Jagajaga had not uttered even one sentence before she was denied the right to be heard.

Ms MACKLIN —I want to refer a very serious matter to you. The Parliamentary Library advised me that this information was contained in the government Gazette, but it would be time consuming to locate it without asking the Health Insurance Commission or the department for advice on when the appointment had been made as there was no press release. The HIC said that they were unable to help and the department advised that they could not provide this information to the Library without the approval of the minister. As this is publicly available information, I would like to refer this question to you because it is another clear case—and I know that you are generally aware of this issue—of the minister trying to restrict the Library's access to otherwise publicly available information.

Mr Reith —On a point of order, Mr Speaker: this member is clearly flouting the standing orders.

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Lyons is warned! As an occupier of this chair, the member for Lyons must know more about parliamentary courtesy than he is currently exhibiting. The Leader of the House has the call.

Mr Reith —My point of order is that there is no standing order which allows a member to make allegations against another member unless by proper forms of the House. Of course, any member has the right to move that a member be not further heard. I do not wish to move to that area, but the fact is that this is an abuse of standing orders. It is an abuse of the convention of the House where people are entitled to ask the Speaker a question and it should not be used for any other purpose.

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Jagajaga was outlining to me concerns that she had. In fact, I have already asked her to compress her concerns and to bring other details to me separately. I am presuming that she is bringing her concerns to a conclusion.

Ms MACKLIN —Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question to you is: will you investigate this situation to make sure that the Parliamentary Library can do its job without the interference of the Minister for Health and Aged Care?

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Jagajaga, having been protected by the chair, just did the very thing that ought not to have been done, given the protection that had been extended to her.