HOUSE SPEAKER Michael Peart's warning to Donald Buchanan to exercise due caution when making presentations to Parliament is a timely one that all parliamentarians should heed.
In the instant case, Mr. Buchanan had charged last month that a Member of Parliament, whom he did not name, had issued bogus invoices for a non-existent hardware store under a $120-million housing programme.
Predictably, his charge sparked an uproar in the House, with Opposition MPs calling for clarification or a withdrawal of the statement by Mr. Buchanan.
Mr. Buchanan has since reported that a correct address for the hardware store involved has been ascertained and that no payment was made to its proprietors nor selected beneficiaries received any materials.
The furore and controversy could have been avoided had Mr. Buchanan allowed the proper investigations to be concluded before going to the House to make what amounted to an inflammatory statement while enjoying the covering of parliamentary privilege. That is, of course, if his intention was not to create mischief.
Parliamentarians have significant privilege that allows for the free cut and thrust of debates. This should be carefully guarded and not abused. Persons outside of Parliament whose integrity or motives may be questioned, may have access through different media to offer some defence of themselves, but never with the same privilege the parliamentarians enjoy in the House or Senate.
In this regard, another furore in the Senate on Thursday was unfortunate.
We note that Opposition Senators walked out of the Senate after Government Senator Delano Franklyn made what they saw as disparaging comments about a constitutional lawyer, whom he did not name, accepting a position on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission. Even were we to accept that the Opposition Senators might have seized Mr. Franklyn's comments to engage in a bit of politicking, we believe the tenor of his statements was inappropriate. Indeed, his comments were sufficiently specific as to leave little doubt as to the individual to whom he was referring.
We do not suggest that MPs or Senators should be timid in defending their particular points of view, but they should be mindful of the privileged positions they occupy, and treat them and the public with due respect.
More importantly, when debating national issues, it is critical that they do not become shrouded in either personal attacks or partisan side-shows. Let's debate the substantive issues and let the public decide on the merits or lack thereof of the arguments presented.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
