Has Bronwyn Bishop the intellectual capacity and political balance to do justice to the office of Speaker in the Australian House of Representatives?

One of a growing number of instances where Bronwyn Bishop’s own behaviour raises doubts about her fitness for the role of Speaker.

The Question Without Notice on 19 November 2013:

Mr EWEN JONES (Herbert) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

Firstly, I would like to thank the minister for visiting an Afghan family in Townsville who had spent 24 years in refugee camps before coming to Australia as part of our humanitarian visa program. How are the government's border protection policies supporting the integrity of our humanitarian program?

How the Speaker chose to hear this this question:

The SPEAKER: I thank the Manager of Opposition Business for his nice reading. But I call the minister and I would point out that when he is asked about the position of people who are coming with permanent visas and the 20,000 versus the 13,750 he is entitled to say, as he has done, that the difference between 13,750 and 20,000 constitutes information that the House would find directly relevant to the question. I call the Leader of the House

The ensuing exchange between the Speaker and members of the Labor Opposition:

Mr Burke: Madam Speaker—

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business on a matter that is not relevance.

Mr Burke: I am seeking to understand how a ruling can make relevant material that was irrelevant to the question.

The SPEAKER: You have just said that your point of order is relevance and we have already had one and you are only entitled to one.

Mr Burke: Madam Speaker, it is with respect to how your ruling is now enforced given that we are dealing with material that you have now said is part of the question which categorically was not.

Ms Plibersek: You have just rewritten the question.

The SPEAKER: The question was one that was pertaining to numbers, as clearly was indicated by the questioner. But I would ask the minister to be relevant to the question as asked.

Not only did Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker rewrite the question, from the Chair she entered into the Hansard record an unsolicited statement which supported the political position of the party in which she is a member.