Leader of the Opposition Philip Davis in the House of Assembly. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
BEFORE the governing party rebuffed his motion yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip "Brave" Davis urged parliamentarians to condemn House Speaker Halson Moultrie for his "wilful, malicious and personal attacks on private citizens" .
He encouraged them to reject the Speaker for his "unlawful, wrongful, capricious, arbitrary and disproportionate suspension of" Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin two weeks ago.
And he called on them to support his motion of no confidence because Mr Moultrie had disgraced "the role and reputation of the Office of the Speaker of the House".
Mr Davis repeatedly used public criticism as a sword in his analysis of the matter, urging the majority to consider condemnation from critics across the political divide.
"The reasons for bringing this resolution of condemnation and censure in a sense are more significant than the acts which led up to the events today," he said. "The primary reason is that the Speaker has descended into the fray, into the mud pit and by doing so has irretrievably damaged the role of Speaker as we understand it in our Parliamentary democracy.
"He is the enforcer of the rules. To do so, he must be impartial but more importantly seen to be impartial. His responses cannot be personal. They must be dispassionate.
"The Speaker is very much like a judge. In fact, the position is quasi-judicial. He is the protector of the rights and privileges of the House, often described as ancient rights and privileges. You will recall that when the House of Assembly opens at the start of the session, as her Majesty's Representative comes to the House, the door is closed in the face of that representative and the representative must knock on the door and be granted entrance by the Speaker.
"The Speaker is the first commoner of the land. He defends the rights of Members. He should not oppress members. The record will show that what the Speaker did in this instance was to compromise those fundamental aspects of his role. This makes his continuation in the role untenable."
For her part, Mrs Hanna Martin took aim at members of the governing party.
"What has been equally or perhaps more shocking is the endorsement and commendation, the laughter and the banging of the tables in gleeful support by Members who sat in this House in apparent appreciation of the gross departure from the standards of this Honourable House," she said.
She later repeated the words some FNM MPs uttered last week, juxtaposing them with Mr Moultrie's attacks which some critics have said were without precedent.
Exuma MP Chester Cooper said he had come to Parliament to improve people's lives, not for what has taken place in the last two weeks.
"What I did not come here for was to sit and listen to affirmations of xenophobia, misogyny and homophobia and twisted logic as to how women should know their place, and to listen to grown men and women of honour applaud as one of their own described the circumstances in a relationship that prescribe when a woman should be beaten," he said.
Comments
stillwaters 6 years, 2 months ago
Show is over now, time for all of you to get some things fixed, so this country can move forward.
licks2 6 years, 2 months ago
Who wrote his speech! Very oxymoronic. . .beating himself up much more than he is the speaker really! I have to sit down after reading this. . .makes ya head spin. . .loopy. . .loopy. . .loopy soliloquy. . .sounds like Mr. Mitchell wrote it. . .a dirge to the death of self-important mind! Mr. Davis need to "stop taking things from Mit" and get himself a "stable minded" speech writer. .
TalRussell 6 years, 2 months ago
Give credit Comrade "Brave" who yesterday went up against the colony's majority stacked governing machinery knowing how it would end by the close session House of Assembly.... but the challenge yesterday in the House to the Speaker remaining in the chair until 2022 - was but "Brave" taking the Speaker for a short test drive...... he'll be back knowing the Speaker's longevity diminished on Wednesday after their test drive - even among his own red House MP's.
licks2 6 years, 2 months ago
Don't forget that the people stacked the house. . .they "kicked out" that same Mr Davis and his incompetent government. . .of which he was the deputy leader! The short test drive as you called was a "look see" at how the opposition strength to do anything. . .the leader was led by a very dysfunctional member and was mad to look the fool. . .THEY MADE NO SUBSTANTIVE HEAD-WAY AT ALL! Now you can understand why I said his speech was a dirge to the "death" of his political acumen. . .he is so wanting if een funny!! He can never ever lead that party to victory. . .notwithstanding his tarnished social background. . .he can't lead nor reason for himself. . .that's what the speaker during his "melt down" was hinting to him. . .he is being led by Mit. . .
DWW 6 years, 2 months ago
every single person in this house needs to STFU and stop being petty children and get some work done. That goes for the village mumblr tal too
SP 6 years, 2 months ago
In true PLP fashion, Brave continues wasting the peoples time. Will somebody please tell this muppet to STFU!
PM Sheriff Minnis needs to take a page out of China's President Xi Jinping playbook and follow through on his pledge to purge the country of corruption and lock up all former politicians and so-called elites that have destroyed this country for 5 decades.
http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas...">http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas...
BMW 6 years, 2 months ago
Short stubby grubby STFU!!!!!!
sealice 6 years, 2 months ago
Nothing that the PLP hasn't done to their opposition repeatedly when they were in power since... FLUCKIN EVER!!! Please Mr. Davis sit down and shut up no one cares about you and your flock of fools until the entire flock is revamped....when are you old phools going to accept that your time has long passed???
licks2 6 years, 2 months ago
The leader is wasting time and running on with nothing. . .we done tell the speaker that we though that his "getting back at them" was a blatant asinine move and ween want to see or hear that nonsense from his backside ever again! So I think that BD is "stuck" in twilight zone because he don;t know what else to do!! THEY LOST AS ANDROS YARD CHICKENS ON BAY STREET. He is purely Mit mode. . .can't resist the urge to "fight" his invisible "ghosts"! He vowed that even if the speaker say sorry. . .HE, HIS NEPHEWS, SISTER, THEIR CHILDREN AND ALL HIS GENERATIONS WILL GET REVENGE FOR THE SPEAKER CALLING HIS A PERVERT!! I said that "this man done gone and loose his ever-living mind". . .DAVIS IS FOLLOWING MIT'S SICK NOTION OF REVENGE. . .MAYBE BECAUSE HIS RELYING ON MIT TO GUIDE HIS AS SAID THE SPEAKER! Ya think that MIT is deliberately "leading" BD down a "stupid path" to make him look bad. . .thus giving Mit a possible chance to reach his life long dream of becoming PM! Remember that Mit is an avid student of the 48 laws of power. . .helping an enemy to "kill his own career" is prominent among those laws to grab power from the unsuspecting! BD COULD BE GETTING SWING BY MIT TO GET HIM OUT OF THE WAY!!
birdiestrachan 6 years, 2 months ago
After all is said and done the intelligence and the wisdom lies within the PLP.. Try as you might no one can take that from them. History will record that all that has brought the Bahamas forward is stamped PLP. and you all can take that to the bank.
SP 6 years, 2 months ago
Our country is in dire shambles. Bahamians and the country were better off 3 decades ago than they are today.
WTF intelligence and wisdom history are you referring to???? PLP took the country from the future backward 30 years to nowhere!
TalRussell 6 years, 2 months ago
Regardless, Ma Comrade Speaker spoke like a fool and the Twenty-six Red House MPs who voted in favor of the motion - voted like fools,,, and they needs stop claiming how their constituents supported the Speaker staying seated in the Speaker's chair. The Reds behaved better when they undergone the Red MP's House Coup to remove their leader. Some in secret background behind the Coup are today sitting as MP's in the House as well as seated around cabinet table. Point is, Minnis if and when put to the leadership test - will not fair as well as Speaker.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID