This WA politician ‘challenged’ the deputy speaker to remove him from parliament. He was suspended

West Australian Greens MLC Sophie McNeill has lashed a Nationals MP who was suspended from parliament as a “a gutless coward” who just wants attention.

And Central Wheatbelt MLA Lachlan Hunter himself took aim at Labor after being suspended for four days, claiming the Cook government had used its absolute majority to “shut down a member of the opposition”.

Premier Roger Cook said the speaker had suspended the Nationals MP for four days over his conduct and behaviour, accusing Hunter of lacking the maturity to “respect the institution”.

Hunter was cautioned three times during question time on Wednesday, before interjecting several times during private members’ business to raise the issue of a “pro-Palestine” meeting held at parliament on Tuesday evening.

The event Hunter was referring to was the “Wall of Tears” – a visual display of the names of 18,000 children who have been confirmed to have been killed in Gaza from October 2023 until the middle of last year.

The exhibition was displayed by the Perth Doctors for Palestine group, made up of more than 100 Perth doctors, with the assistance of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group.

McNeill, along with WA Labor MLA Dave Kelly, helped facilitate the event.

Addressing the chamber on Thursday, Speaker Stephen Price said Hunter’s responses went beyond mere noncompliance and amounted to direct challenges to the authority of the chair.

“When reminded how many calls to order he had received, he effectively challenged the deputy speaker to remove him from the chamber,” Price said.

“Taken together, I am satisfied that the member’s conduct constituted a persistent and wilful disregard for the authority of the chair for the purposes of standing order 42.”

Price moved that the member for Central Wheatbelt be suspended from service of the assembly.

“As this is the second occasion within a year on which the member has been named, the suspension will be for four sitting days, including the remainder of today,” Price said.

The motion was carried 27 to 12.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, McNeill said she was a proud co-convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Palestine. She then turned the blowtorch on Hunter for his comments on the event.

“Lachlan Hunter is a gutless coward who wouldn’t dare repeat what he said outside of parliament,” she said.

“He’s a disgusting, cowardly little man who is using the deaths of 18,000 children to try and get a bit of attention because he’s worried about One Nation taking his seat at the next election.

“I think Lachlan … clearly is just a complete shithead.”

Speaking to media outside Parliament House on Thursday, Hunter claimed he had been kicked out for addressing “very serious issues like antisemitism”.

“So, if the deputy speaker didn’t call me out yesterday and kick me out of the parliament, then why is the speaker now intervening today to kick me out of the state parliament on this very, very serious issue?” he asked.

“The deputy speaker, on a number of occasions, asked me to remain relevant to the opposition’s own motion on vulnerable people.

“Well, I ask the Labor Party if they think that the Jewish community in Western Australia are not some of the most vulnerable people in our state.

“I will accuse the speaker, the deputy speaker, and every single acting speaker in this parliament for being totally biased, and I have called it out, and we’ve called it out as an opposition, time and time again.”

Speaking to media, Cook said he believed Hunter’s suspension was “an important part of making sure that we restore the rules and the respect of the chamber”.

“Let’s be very, very clear on this. This has nothing to do with the subject matter [Hunter] raised,” Cook said.

“What he chose to do was simply to run loose with the rules of the chamber, to be disrespectful to the deputy speaker.

“She was in the chair at the time, and he was talking over, being disrespectful and rude. And there are rules around that. It has nothing to do with the debate itself.”

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