Opposition not solely responsible for bad blood in Parliament, says Golding

 

 

Opposition Leader Mark Golding is defending his side of the parliamentary divide, insisting that the opposition is not solely responsible for the chaos and bad blood in the legislative body.

 

This follows last Tuesday's angry confrontations, particularly involving four government and opposition members - Mikael Phillips and Desmond Mckenzie, as well as House Speaker Juliet Holness and Dr. Angela Brown Burke. 

 

There have been longstanding tensions in the House of Representatives since Mrs. Holness assumed her current role. 

 

The opposition has cried foul over her management of the House, claiming bias and minimising its members' role. 

 

They have also taken issue with Mrs. Holness's interpretation of sections of the Standing Orders. 

 

When pressed by Radio Jamaica News at a People's National Party (PNP) press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Golding admitted that his members are not entirely innocent, but claimed they should not take all the heat for the hostility that has become the norm inside Gordon House.

 

"None of us are perfect, but we're reasonable people and we understand the role that we're supposed to play in Parliament and we understand the importance of being elected representatives. Do I feel that we are culpable for the current state of affairs? We are not the main reasons for it. The main reasons for it are the things that I and others have outlined as to why we got here and how we got here. Have our reactions to that situation always been perfect or beyond any form of criticism? I wouldn't claim that. I'm just saying that we have been in a very difficult situation, a very abnormal situation and one which lends itself to situations arising, reactions happening, which are unconventional. And in that scenario, you will have people criticising us how we have reacted. Often people don't even know the facts," he contended.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Golding said the matter between Dr. Brown Burke and Mrs. Holness is subjected to legal proceedings.

 

"The steps in relation to that have commenced and I don't want to discuss that here. Dr. Angela Brown Burke's attorneys have written to at least three individuals arising from their commentary on that matter, and on the basis of they are defamatory and actionable, and we will see where that goes," he said, admitting that the House Speaker is one of those who has been written to. 

 

Dr. Brown Burke was accused of assaulting the House Speaker during last week's heated dispute in the House. 

 

 

In the meantime, Phillip Paulwell, Leader of Opposition Business in the House, said the two sides of the political aisle have started discussions to the address the tensions in the Parliament.

 

"Those discussions have started in good faith and we are agreed that before we meet back next week as a Parliament, we'll continue those discussions, indeed negotiations, to resolve these matters. So I am proceeding in good faith," he said.

 

He also shot down criticisms that opposition MPs are not sufficiently educated on the Standing Orders. 

 

"We have heard criticism from those who are not as aware as they ought to be, that oftentimes it appears that the opposition is caught flat-footed, that we don't seem to be expert on the Standing Orders, and that we have been outmanoeuvred from time to time. That is not so," he insisted.

 

Mr. Paulwell was also speaking at the PNP press conference on Tuesday.