The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Harry Jenkins, came close to resigning today.
The possibilities that could have flowed from his resignation are intriguing to consider.
What happened?
In the course of a raucous and disputatious Question Time, Jenkins warned and then named Liberal member Bob Baldwin for “continuing to interject after having been warned by the Chair”. “Naming” by the Speaker is the precursor to a motion to suspend the member from the service of the House.
The government’s Leader of the House, Anthony Albanese, accordingly rose and moved the motion to suspend Baldwin for 24 hours.