The Speaker of the House of Assembly has ruled that the minister of tourism was not obstructed in her parliamentary duties and found no Prima Facie case of contempt as the result of questions asked by the Opposition during Question Period last week.
Tourism Minister Andrea Barbour rising in the House on a personal Point of Privilege
Minister Andrea Barbour rose on a Point of Privilege in the House last week to address the abuse she’s endured since being elected to public office.
Speaker Paul Lane says while he is “extremely sympathetic” to the issues the minister raised, after examining Hansard, and parliamentary precedent, he found there was no Point of Privilege.
He says members in the House have the right to seek information and hold government to account, and to speak without inhibition.
Speaker makes recommendations on social media use by members and parties
However, Lane did make recommendations to the House of Assembly on the use of social media. He says it’s the responsibility of each member to “take accountability for their own actions, and that of their staff and other associates.”
“We can choose not to create posts or repost nasty, juvenile, inflammatory memes. We can choose to instruct our constituency assistants, executive assistants, communications and other staff to refrain from doing so also.”
“We can choose to ask our supporters, families and friends, to also refrain from such activity. We can also bring to our colleague’s attention if we feel they have crossed a line and encourage them to remove offensive posts from their social media accounts.”
