House Chairperson may I addressing in terms of Rule 73 (3) of the Rules of the National Assembly.
Yes, continue, hon member.
Read in conjunction with section 74 of the Rules. Madam House Chairperson, you will know that there were members of this House who were ejected by the parliamentary protection services in terms of the Rules yesterday from E249. This Rule says that if a member is ejected by the use of parliamentary protection services that is an automatic suspension period for five days and they had to absent themselves from the precinct in terms of the Rule 74 for those five days. I would request some guidance and direction from you, House Chairperson, as you were a presiding officer in E249 yesterday on the applicability of the Rules in this matter. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon member Steenhuisen, remember that we work even according to the experiences that we have in this House. We had this incident in the previous term and it went to court. The court said that we were right to evict them, but with regard to suspension, Parliament was found on the other side. So, this Rule still has to be worked on because the court did not approve of it. So for now can we allow that and continue.
House Chairperson, may I request this matter to be forwarded to the Rules Committee as the matter of urgency because there should be consequences when people behave in an unparliamentary manner. It can't just be business as usual where people disrupt in a way it was done yesterday and just simply come back to work the next day as if nothing has happened. There have to be consequences. The Constitution is clear that we can make our own Rules in terms of guarding our internal arrangements. I would please ask you, as a House Chair, that you refer this matter to the Rules Committee as a matter of urgency, because it can't be business as usual. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you very much. That will be done. In actual fact, it should have been started because the court guided us on that Rule in the previous term. Okay, having said that hon members, I just want to welcome the members in the gallery. We really appreciate your presence here and we hope that you will behave in the way that the Rules of this House allow - that is no participation from you in any
form. You will get what I meant when you do the wrong thing. Thank you very much.