Who knew?
Thank you, Chair.
I have to tell you that there were probably a lot of things that happened in that alleyway that come in handy around here sometimes when it's necessary to get some elbows up.
All joking aside, I think the point is a fair one. I do believe that it's important to show that every time we want to do something we make a reference to the standing order. That provides a whole flood of details and procedures that we don't have to bother reinventing each and every time, because we've decided, when we set out on a certain course of action, “here are the rules of engagement and here's what's fair”, and if they don't cover it, then you make sure you have some special rules that you agree on.
We don't need to have that fight over and over. Once we've agreed on what the Standing Orders are going to be, not only are they enforceable by the Speaker but, more importantly in a Parliament, each of us accepts them as the rules. We accept that they're fair on balance, and that they're meant to be fair.
That can also affect Speakers' rulings on things, because if the government has no intention of being fair when they change the Standing Orders and implement them, that means that at some point some of us are going to be on our feet on a point of order trying to get the Speaker to say that the standing order shouldn't be applied because it's not fair. All of that is eliminated—