THE ACT Liberals’ attempt to remove Speaker Shane Rattenbury from his position in parliament has gained no support from the Government or the Greens.

Today, Opposition Leader Zed Seselja moved a vote of no confidence against Rattenbury in response to his recent support of the illegal Greenpeace protest that saw $300,000 worth of damage to a genetically modified CSIRO crop.

Seselja said in parliament  that there were several reason that lead his party to this point.

“It may be best to start with the last of those reasons – but one which exemplifies above all others, how utterly untenable the Speakers’ position has become,” he said.

“I refer, of course, to the absolutely extraordinary stance of this Speaker to openly denigrate the rule of law and to publicly support illegal activity.”

He later stated:

“The Greens are an integral part of making our laws. There are many people in the community who find Greens-initiated legislation an anathema to their own views. They have the right to challenge such laws using all the democratic tools, again and again if necessary. It does not allow the right to simply ignore or disobey them.

“This incident raises a momentous question for people considering voting for the Greens. Is a vote for the Greens a vote for a party wanting to dictate their view of the world or is it a vote for a party wanting to fairly participate in and influence the democratic process?

“Did Shane Rattenbury learn from this? Did he recant his clearly erroneous position? No. He went on not only to continue to defend the law breakers, but to encourage others to do the same.”

Attorney-General Simon Corbell, in response, described Rattenbury’s comments about the Greenpeace protest as “unwise”, however he believed nothing was said that indicated Rattenbury was unable to perform the role of Speaker.

ACT Greens leader Meredith Hunter said the motion was baseless and the rule of law and civil disobedience can “stand side by side.”

Both the Labor Government and the Greens stated they would not  support the motion.