Fed: Howard cool on proposed changes to Speaker's role

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Fed: Howard cool on proposed changes to Speaker's role

CANBERRA, Feb 10 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard today said he would consider someprocedural changes to the conduct of parliament but not a radical shift in the rules governingthe Speaker's position.

If Opposition Leader Simon Crean was serious about his suggested changes to procedures,the government would meet him halfway on the proposals, Mr Howard said.

Mr Crean is seeking bipartisan support for an improvement of parliamentary standards and debate.

The proposal, called Cleaning Up the House, calls for the role of Speaker to switchbetween the government and opposition every two terms - regardless of which side is ingovernment - to prevent the Speaker from being threatened with disendorsement by his orher own side.

"There are some changes that could be made and I don't reject out-of-hand what theopposition has put forward," Mr Howard told Channel Nine today.

"The rotating Speaker thing is a bit different.

"In Britain, what happens is you are there for so long as you want to and then youcease to be the Speaker. The convention is you resign from the House of Commons. Also,you are not opposed at elections.

"I couldn't find that particular element in the proposals that Labor put forward."

Mr Howard said he was more interested in some of the procedural changes suggested.

"If Simon Crean is serious when he says he wants more debate and less argy-bargy, thenI'm prepared to go realistically halfway on that."

He said he would instruct the manager of government business, Tony Abbott, to talkto his opposite number on the Labor benches, Wayne Swan, on the issue before he personallywould speak to Mr Crean.

"We've got to temper our beginning-of-term embrace of some of these changes with therecognition it is an Australian parliament expressing the character of the Australianpeople."

Mr Howard said he was not trying to take the position of Deputy Speaker away from the Nationals.

"The proposal is that we have a joint party room vote on all positions but I wouldexpect there's a lot of support for a National Party person in that position."

AAP dep/ph/sb

KEYWORD: SPEAKER HOWARD