Prime Minister's Questions which took place during the 9 February sitting of Parliament.


Speaker: Order. Prime Minister's Questions now. Please respect your colleagues as they talk, a constant shouting over the Prime Minister and other members of this Parliament will not be tolerated, they must be heard and they deserve to be heard. Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I would just like to respond to the Referendum result we held last week, we are getting closer to including everyone in our country, I hope one day we can transition from Christianity to Ecumenism and possibly out of a State Religion altogether. 

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: We are behind the times as a nation but we can only do our best to catch up and stop excluding people based on something so backwards, their religion, the people of this country, I think my Party will agree with me, deserve to believe or not believe what they like. 

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: Dr. Speaker, I would also like to address the rumours circulating at the moment of the possibility that history in our country has been altered at some point, I would like to confirm to the house, I have met recently with one former Prime Minister who has been written out of history and one former Vice-Prime Minister so I am aware they have been written out, of course, the next question is why but as to a second Prime Minister being written out of history, at this time, I am not aware of them.

Government: (Murmurs)

Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Hilda Lowe.

Leader of the Opposition: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I would like to side with the Prime Minister in congratulating the public on changing the State Religion, this is a step in the right direction, towards a brighter future. I would like, now, though, to turn my attention to the Liberal Democrats' manifesto and to the issue of the transforming our mental health services. I see on the Modern Marxist Party's agenda today is Gay Rights, I think the politically correct name would actually be LGBTQ+ Rights.

Liberal Democrats: Yeah.

Leader of the Opposition: For the LGBTQ+ community, their recogniition in society is a relatively new recognition and many people belonging to this community, especially young members, may still feel like they are the marginalised community which can result in mental stability being rocked. We are working, as a Party elected to this House, to transform mental health services in our constituencies by treating mental health with the same urgency as physical health. Would the Prime Minister agree that mental health in the country, especially where a member of the LGBTQ+ community member is experiencing trouble in their lives purely because of who they are, is important and will she help us to improve these services.

Speaker: Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The Right Honourable lady makes a good point and I can feel the importance of this issue coming out of the Liberal Democrats Party which is good in a sense because rather than shouting at each other, for once, our Parliament is somewhat united on this very important and forward-thinking issue.

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: Dr. Speaker, the Government are working on behalf of the people with their rights in mind at all times.

Liberal Democrats and Borders Party: (Laughter).

Speaker: Order, order. The Prime- Order! Sit down, Mr. Fitzgerald, your turn will come. Order. The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker, as I was saying, the Government are working on behalf of the people with their rights in mind at all times. In relation to Gay Rights or, as the Right Honourable lady very rightly said, LGBTQ+ Rights, we are seeking to protect people of this community in relation to Marriage Equality, Discrimination, Identity, Expression and Blood Donation. The President released a statement earlier today saying LGBTQ+ people will always be allowed into the army and to fight for the country. We are working to provide mental health services to anyone who still feels marginalised. Dr. Speaker, it is my hope that this will increase morale in the nation as a whole and I agree with the Right Honourable lady that this is an important issue and I will do everything in my power to help her and her Party on this particular issue.

Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition.

Leader of the Opposition: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. It is also the interest of the Liberal Democrats to provide schools with a better curriculum that prepares them for work and relationships. With the LGBTQ+ community in mind, what does the Prime Minister intend to change? 

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. It is always in the best interests of the Government to provide for the people.

Liberal Democrats and Borders Party: (Laughter)

Speaker: ORDER! Thank you! The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. As I was saying, it is always in the best interests of the Government to provide for the people. As a nation, since 1899, it was the priority of our former Prime Ministers, including the forgotten one or ones, to provide education that prepares male students for work, in 1913, we started providing female students with that opportunity, in 1932, we started providing male students with relationship education in addition to their work preparation, in 1946, we started providing female students with relationship education in relation to their work preparation, in 1996, we allowed mixed schools for the first time and in 2016, we overhauled the curriculum altogether to suit 21st Century students, we have continued to move forward as a nation and we will continue to do so in the future, with this issue on the table, it is only a matter of time before we start providing all students, wherever they are, whoever they are, with the same, equal curriculum and work preparation. 

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: OK, order, moving away from the Leader of the Opposition and around to the rest of the House. The MP for Alton City North and Vice-Prime Minister, Dr. Darrell Fuller.

Vice-Prime Minister Fuller: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. My constituency is concerned with the equal age of consent. The people of Alton City have met with me countless times in my office there to discuss the equal age of consent which currently only applies to straight men and women. Does my honourable friend and colleague agree with me that this is unacceptable and that we should have it extended to people of other orientations and genders?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I'd like to thank my honourable friend and colleague for standing up today and addressing this issue. Yes, I do agree that this is unacceptable and is an area we have not yet addressed as a nation. We are a bit late to the party in everything we do as of now but we will continue to strive to equalise everything and bring Qaweritoyu into 2020. I agree that we should be extending that to people of all orientations or no orientations, all genders or no genders and I will be following that up officially in the coming weeks.

Speaker: The MP for Effin, Velma Castillo.

Velma Castillo: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Effin is most worried about employment laws at the moment. Effin would like to know, will laws be introduced in employment to make sure everyone of every sort is able to seek and have the opportunity to have a job and to work freely as any other Qaz citizen would do so?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The honourable lady addresses another very valid point. This is another whole in our politics as a nation and the Government will be following that up in coming weeks. Also, Dr. Speaker, if I may, I would like to mention regarding my own constituency, Alton City East.

Speaker: (Nods).

Prime Minister: The people of Alton City East are very anxious with goods and services being brought into the country, as I think we all are or should be. Whilst this issue does not effect any single constituency directly, it is a concern of my constituency and I suspect it is of everyone's constituency here too, I just would like to state, good and services of the relevant type will be introduced and laws will be put in place allowing those who want or need them, whoever they are, access.

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: Order. The MP for Alton City 3° North and Vice-Prime Minister, Dr. Bert Little.

Vice-Prime Minister Little: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Prime Minister, indirect discrimination and hate speech is on the rise in the country and it's simply not acceptable. My constituents have been kicking up about it for some time. Will my honourable friend and colleague introduce laws to combat discrimination, direct or not, and hate speech?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. My honourable friend and colleague makes a very good point and it's one that we, as politicians, like to pretend doesn't exist and run and hide from but the truth of the matter is exactly as he said, discrimination is on the rise and hate speech is more common now than ever before. The Government will absolutely be introducing laws regarding this issue which has to stop for us to move forward in peace.

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: Order, please, order. As MP for Alton City West, I just have a question of my own for the Prime Minister.

Government: (Arguing about the fact the Speaker is asking a question).

Speaker: Order, quieten down please, thank you. Order! Please don't talk when I am talking or else we will be here all day, I have no desire to work past 5 o'clock today and I suspect you don't either. Please resume your seat, Mr. Arnold, it's a long standing rule in the House, as you all should know, that no MPs stand when the Speaker is standing and, for future reference, that includes the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Now, back to my question, gender identity is an issue in Alton City West, the people don't like that at the moment you can only change gender once and then you are stuck until you die. Will laws be introduced to allow changes as often as one would like? Another area rising at the moment is anti-discrimination. Linking in with Dr. Little's point a minute ago, does the Prime Minister agree that laws must be introduced promoting anti-discrimination in the country? The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I hear you. Yes, that is ridiculous, I trust you know it wasn't me who introduced that, it wasn't you who signed off on it and it wasn't President Elliott who signed it in to law so given all these positions have had a face lift, I am happy and confident that we can propose, approve and sign off legislation for anti-discrimination and gender identity changes as frequently as possible and that we can continue to move forwards, not backwards.

Government: Yeah.

Speaker: Order. The MP for Doodys Bottoms, Mr. Morris Adkins.

Morris Adkins: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Doodys Bottoms are concerned with adoption at this time. Will the Prime Minister agree that adoption laws need to be extended to suit all genders and not just heterosexual and homosexual men and women as they do now?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Absolutely, adoption laws need to be updated to suit the time we are living in and the Government will be following that up in two weeks' time.

Speaker: The MP for Alton City South and Vice-Prime Minister, Dr. Monica Ortiz.

Vice-Prime Minister Ortiz: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Alton City South are questioning the current situation with the army and admission to the army. At present, only heterosexual men and women are allowed to serve in the army. Does my honourable friend and colleague agree that all people, whoever they are, should be allowed the honour of serving and fighting for our country?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. My honourable friend and colleague speaks of a very dangerous and pressing issue at the moment but I would like to thank her for doing so.

Government: Yeah.

Prime Minister: All people, Dr. Speaker, male, female, unisex, non-binary, heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, whoever they are, with a burning desire to serve the country should serve the country if they wish. The army is actually the President's responsibility but I agree with my honourable friend and colleague one hundred per cent and in coming weeks, the Government will be making contact with the President to discuss making such changes, I can't see him refusing but we'll have to wait and see.

Speaker: The MP for Experiment, Mr. Owen West.

Owen West: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. Experiment would like to chime in with you, Dr. Speaker, on your point on gender identity.

Speaker: (Nods).

Owen West: Experiment would like to see a change in legal gender laws. Does the Prime Minister give Experiment her word that this change will occur?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. As I said to you, Dr. Speaker, I am happy and confident that we can propose, approve and sign off legislation for anti-discrimination and gender identity changes as frequently as possible and that we can continue to move forwards, not backwards. So yes, changing of legal gender is under review at the moment.

Speaker: The MP for Clearmouth, Ms. Kelly Cummings.

Kelly Cummings: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. IVF is currently only available to heterosexual couples who cannot have children of their own and single mothers who wish to remain single. Does my honourable friend agree it should be made available to all couples who are physically able to avail of it?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. My honourable friend makes a valid point. I'd like to thank her. The Government will be introducing this policy at the end of February and we hope it will take effect at the beginning of March.

Speaker: The MP for Ferndochty, Mr. Luke Phelps.

Luke Phelps: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The Prime Minister's point on commercial surrogacy.

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. On commercial surrogacy. It is the Government's intention to introduce commercial surrogacy into the country by March.

Speaker: The MP for Cannon Ball, Ms. Donnie Jenkins.

Donnie Jenkins: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The constituents of Cannon Ball are concerned with conversion therapy for young transgender individuals. At the moment, conversion therapy for minors is legal. We think it shouldn't be so. Does the Prime Minister agree or disagree?

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. I agree with the honourable lady. Minors often go through a number of changes of opinion so the Government will be banning conversion therapy for minors from the beginning of March. If an individual turns 18 and still wishes to endure conversion therapy then they may do so.

Speaker: The last question of today's Prime Minister's Questions, the MP for Shinbare, Ms. Carla Sims.

Carla Sims: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The Prime Minister's point on MSMs.

Speaker: The Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Thank you, Dr. Speaker. The Government is working at this time to allow MSMs to donate blood. There is no question about it, it is being done.

Speaker: Order, Prime Minister's Questions now ends, thank you to all who participated. Thank you, in particular, to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Let's move on to our next piece of business, please.