The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

GOLDEN Isles MP Vaughn Miller urged government to treat certain members of Parliament the same way that he and two others were treated according to the Westminster system when they were fired for voting against the value added tax increase last year.

While he did not say to whom he referred when he spoke in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr Miller later told The Tribune he was “on the face of it” speaking about Mt Moriah MP Marvin Dames and Elizabeth MP Dr Duane Sands.

The Progressive Liberal Party has repeatedly called for both these Cabinet ministers to be fired after a judge cited their “egregious” conduct in connection with former PLP Senator Frank Smith’s bribery and extortion trial. Mr Smith was recently acquitted of the charges against him.

“Mr Speaker, on June 19 of last year some three of us honourable members of this House were fired,” Mr Miller said in Parliament. “I accepted whatever the consequences were for my act. There is much talk throughout the country I am sure that you would be aware with regards to Westminster and who Westminster applies to and who it does not apply to.

“When I was fired and the press questioned me about other members that they thought were overlooked and they thought should have been fired also, I simply said to the press that I’m forgetting those things that are behind and I press forward.

“I simply ask that the same manner in which we were treated under Westminster, that other persons – if in fact it happened – will be treated in like manner and again I’m asking your permission, Mr Speaker, to speak to the formation of a select committee on Westminster so that it could be addressed in detail.”

House Speaker Halson Moultrie, however, did not allow Mr Miller to continue as he said the right protocol was not followed.

He said: “Honourable member you are making a number of requests and actually giving notice, but you are proceeding as if the notice has been given, in other words what is required now is for you to table your notices and then when you have the opportunity to present on your select committees, then you can bring the arguments that you are now bringing. Or if you wish to make a presentation to Parliament, the normal procedure is that you would visit the Speaker one hour prior to the session or in some instances one day notice is given and whatever you intend to present the Speaker would review it with you to determine whether or not it is contentious. If the Speaker is satisfied the discretion would be in your favour to allow the presentation.”

Speaker Moultrie continued: “Of course with the appointment of select committees you have that right, so you can just give notice and your select committee would be placed on the agenda and whenever we arrive at that point in the order of business you are free to arise on that occasion.

“So what I would require of you is to present the notice and the statement that you wish to give to the Parliament that you present it at least a day prior to and we can have an opportunity as in the case of the members for Centreville, Bain Town (and) Carmichael it applies to all members.

“That is why I stopped the proceeding this morning with respect to the member of Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador (Philip “Brave” Davis) because it’s an abuse of the process to rise to your feet under the good will of the chair and make a statement that the chair is not even aware of the contents and that was the reason for the chair’s intervention this morning. So, likewise with you, you can bring the notices for the select committees and then you can bring me your statement and you would be permitted to present it at the next statement.”

Mr Miller, former parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Social Services, and Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine, former chairman of the Hotel Corporation, were fired from their appointments last June.

At the time, Bain and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson was also fired as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.

They were axed after voting against the government’s decision to increase VAT from 7.5 percent to 12 percent.