Thursday, 4 June 2026

 The SPEAKER (17:07): I would like to respond to a couple of points of order that have been raised this week. I wish to make some remarks about strangers and officers – that is, people in the chamber and galleries who are not members. People in the public galleries, the press gallery and the advisers boxes, along with the chamber staff, PSOs and Hansard reporters and monitors, are not active participants in the chamber. They observe proceedings and support the operation of the house, but they do not and must not contribute to debate. People in the galleries are required to sit quietly and not interject, and officers seek to be unobtrusive.

Accordingly, members are prohibited from referring to strangers other than under standing order 114 and should refer to officers only where absolutely necessary. There is a fairness aspect here, as those people are not able to respond to comments in the way a member can. If members persist in referring to the galleries, they will no longer be heard by the Chair.

Further, I refer members to the multiple rulings in chapter 27 of Rulings from the Chair, particularly on pages 172 and 173, about acknowledging the gallery. I further draw members’ attention to Deputy Speaker Fogarty’s ruling on page 174 that it is inappropriate to refer to the presence of advisers in the advisers boxes. Such officers are here in the course of their work and should not be drawn into chamber proceedings.