Today, for reasons unknown, Lockwood Smith did not take the chair for Question Time, instead leaving it to Deputy Speaker Eric Roy. What followed was the most hapless performance of a Speaker I have ever seen. Roy lost control of the House, to the detriment of the actual questioning. His rulings on points of order were almost incoherent, and repeatedly questioned by other Members. The final insult was his ruling on whether to have a debate on the sale of the Crafar farms, which he refused because... um... er... "reasons", which he has forgotten (I am not making this up). If he's the designated successor to Lockwood Smith, then I pity the House, because he really is not up to the job.
The full footage is already on In The House. Its painful viewing.
