Qld: MP claims her life was threatened in parliament

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2009
Qld: MP claims her life was threatened in parliament

By Gabrielle Dunlevy

BRISBANE, Aug 20 AAP - A Gold Coast MP says her life has been threatened in an exchange
in parliament.

Liberal National Party (LNP) MP Jann Stuckey says Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) Minister Robert Schwarten was out of line on Wednesday when he said Ms Stuckey was
"not cut out for life".

Mr Schwarten had been answering a question about the national broadband network when
he made the comment that Ms Stuckey, the opposition's ICT spokesperson, thought "broadband"

was "a place somewhere between Broadwater and Broadbeach".

In withdrawing the comment, Mr Schwarten said Ms Stuckey, "should probably consider
something on Broadway".

After withdrawing that comment, he said Ms Stuckey was not cut out for Broadway, "not
cut out for a life in here, or a life full stop".

Ms Stuckey on Thursday asked for a written apology, and for the matter to be examined
by the members' ethics and parliamentary privileges committee.

"The minister implies that I as a woman are unable to serve in the Queensland parliament,"

she said.

"No person in any workplace should be expected to tolerate insulting or offensive language
such as this targeted at them.

"Secondly, the latter part of the comment appears to suggest that Minister Schwarten
is making a threat against my life."

Leader of the House Judy Spence said Ms Stuckey was doing women no favours.

"You do women no great service by acting so sensitively on an issue such as this,"

Ms Spence said.

Speaker John Mickel will examine Ms Stuckey's complaint once it has been put in writing.

AAP gd/pjo/sn

KEYWORD: STUCKEY

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