Role
The Speaker's principal duty is to preside over the House, although she/he is assisted in this by the Deputy Speakers and a panel of Acting Speakers, who usually preside during routine debates. The Speaker must maintain order in the House, uphold the Standing Orders (rules of procedure), rule on points of order, and protect the rights of backbench members. The Speaker is assisted by two deputies, both also elected by the House: the Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker, the latter of which must be elected from an opposition party. The Speaker, in conjunction with the President of the Senate, also administers Parliament House, Canberra, with the assistance of an administrative staff.
Australian parliaments are notoriously rowdy, and the Speaker frequently exercises the disciplinary powers available under Standing Orders. The Speaker may summarily order a Member to excuse him or herself from the House for one hour. For more serious offences, the Speaker may "name" a Member: she/he says "I name the Honourable Member for X," following the House's convention that Members are always referred to by their electorate. The House then votes on a motion to suspend the Member for 24 hours. (The House also had the power to permanently expel a Member, but this happened only once, in 1920: the member was Hugh Mahon. Under Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987, the House no longer has the power to expel a member from membership of the House.)
Read more about this topic: Speaker Of The Australian House Of Representatives
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