House Speaker and opposition members at odds

 

House Speaker Juliet Holness has argued that opposition members acted poorly in their walkout during Tuesday's sitting of Parliament.

 

The parliamentary opposition walked out of the Parliament on Tuesday afternoon after accusing Mrs. Holness of not allowing its members to respond to a statement by Government Minister Matthew Samuda about a possible emergency situation due to the threat of Tropical Storm Melissa.

 

In a media release on Tuesday night, Mrs. Holness argued that the business before the House must always be conducted strictly in accordance with the Standing Orders.

 

Opposition members and Mrs. Holness clashed over the asking of questions to Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda following a statement he made to update the public on the government's preparations for Tropical Storm Melissa. 

 

Mrs. Holness argued that the questions being posed were unrelated to the statement and that the push by opposition members to go into other matters breached Parliament's Standing Orders. 

 

The opposition disagreed and accused the House Speaker of being unfair and engaging in improper conduct.

 

Toward the end of the sitting, the House Speaker addressed the incident, describing it as regrettable. But she stood firm on her ruling. 

 

"Having assessed the content of the question and against the relevant rules, it was determined out of order as the subject matter was not within the official cognizance of the minister...tasked with responding to the question and therefore breach the rules governing the propriety and content of questions presented to the House," she argued. 

 

Mrs. Holness said she found it concerning that no attempt was made by the opposition to find an amicable solution to the issue, despite making the recommendation to Leader of Opposition Business Phillip Paulwell.

 

She said, instead efforts were made to continue the matter publicly in defiance of the ruling.

 

"It was a clear attempt to usurp or publicly undermine the authority of the Speaker. Worse, the Leader of Opposition gave instructions to his members to refrain from answering questions and from furthering the people's business in protest of the ruling. The subsequent walkout by members of the opposition was absolutely regrettable to say the least, but worse, are affront to the proper order of the House, a breach of parliamentary decorum and ultimately an action that undermines the interests of the people of Jamaica whom we are all elected to serve. Members, I remain committed to following the standing orders impassionally, firmly and without fear or favour," she stressed.

 

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has said discussions will be held among members to devise a response to the actions of the House Speaker. 

 

Mr. Golding said an intervention is needed as lawmakers on the opposition benches are being frustrated in their attempts to do their duties.

 

"The Speaker is an umpire that's supposed to a fair and honest adjudicator of the rules to ensure the Parliament is able to play its role in the democracy, in an impartial, objective and unrestricted way. That is not happening. So we feel that the government, if they want to achieve progress in some of the things that they are seeking to do, they're going to have to adjust the stance that's being taken, so that we feel that our presence is respected and recognised, and that we can play our role as a parliamentary opposition with the constitutional obligations that we have," said the Opposition Leader.