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Qaweritoyu · 04-09-2021, 11:24 AM

Presidence Auditorium, 9 April 2021

President: Friends, Vice-President Elliott, Press, thank you for this very warm welcome to the Presidence Auditorium today. I, also, warmly welcome you to the Presidence for this speech. I hope, for today's speech, to share with you my outline for this speech, some meetings and thoughts I have had regarding the Higher Chamber of the Qaz Parliament, that is, the Chamber highest up in the structure of our Government and the one I am responsible for directly running, even if I am not present in there for the majority of the time, and how this work will be accomplished and interruptions to this work as a result of the business currently passing through our Lower Chamber.

Firstly, friends, most of you will know me as the brief, young President at the start of our current and ongoing, soon-to-be resolved, Presidential Crisis who dismissed half of the Prime Minister's Cabinet of the time by Executive Order. I am back this time, with the backing of my Vice-President, also a former President, June 2021 running mate of mine for the Presidency and another relatively young President known for his bold and daring work in reforming our Presidency, the way we are run and the power we have over the people. It has been reduced significantly as a result of his work and I hope I have continued to reduce this power further so far, with his backing.

Friends, there was recently a bit of a scrap in our Lower Chamber of Parliament when the Government, with my permission, announced plans for a Higher Chamber Abolition Referendum. I do acknowledge the hard and necessary wor the Higher Chamber do but my boss is, first and foremost, the people, as is the Government's boss. If the people no longer see a need for the Higher Chamber, a Referendum is to be encouraged, not blocked. The people decided the Higher Chamber was still necessary and so we will continue to use the Higher Chamber in the functioning of the Qaz Parliament, however, after extensive talks with the Prime Minister, it has been decided to reform the structure and work of the Higher Chamber to become more in line with the Lower Chamber rather than hold MPs of Parties not currently elected to the Lower Chamber and discussing completely different issues to what is being discussed in the Lower Chamber.

So what changes will we be making to the Higher Chamber? Firstly, there will be a similar Majority held in the Higher Chamber within the same Party holding the Majority of the Lower Chamber, after each election, these will be discussed with both Speakers of both Chambers. There will be a Lord Minister representing the Prime Minister in the Higher Chamber and a Vice-Lord Minister, their Deputy, representing the Vice-Prime Minister in the Higher Chamber. The Higher Chamber's Parliamentary Structure will resemble that of the Lower Chamber and will operate a term behind the Lower Chamber. For example, the Lower Chamber recently finished the first time in which the Government discussed and worked on a number of issues they wanted to work on in Parliament, for the term just starting, the Higher Chamber will take up these issues and continue to work on them and monitor them. I will now give way to the Vice-President to talk more on the reform being made. Vice-President.

Vice-President: Thank you, President and thank you all for being here. You know who I am and you know what I stand for and so let's try not to waste any more time on that.

A common rumour is that the President and I are reducing the number of Seats in the Higher Chamber to resemble that of the Lower Chamber. This is not true. we will be operating the Higher Chamber with the same amount of Seats we did so before but the important thing to mention is that not every MP of the Lower Chamber will have a counterpart because that's not how the Higher Chamber operates. Rather than representing the people before the people, the Higher Chamber represents the people before the President and I. When issues pass through the Lower Chamber, we rarely get involved in them and so apart from hearing about issues on the news and subsequently discussing things with the Government, we don't know what happens in the Lower Chamber. However, the President and I do run the Higher Chamber together so when issues pass through there, we generally then do get wind of them and when they differ to the Lower Chamber, we're not getting to see what the people have seen and there is then a disconnect there, between the state and her people.

The President and I are introducing these bold new changes, and I'm sure the new President in June 2021, whoever that is, will continue to, to ensure that the state is aware of what the people are discussing and what the Government are discussing and in this way, we will also come to discuss the issues and, altogether, we will bring ourselves closer together as a people and deal with issues together. I will now give way to Press for any questions and then I will hand back to the President. Wow, there are a lot of you, erm, who's that directly in front of me at the back? The Alton City Times?

The Alton City Times: Thank you, sir. May I please ask the pros and cons to reforming the Higher Chamber?

Vice-President: Thank you for your question. The pros to reforming the Higher Chamber is that we will all be on the same page as politicians. The Government will be working on what the people have elected them to work on and instead of the former system of hand on unsolved issues to the Higher Chamber and to the Supreme Court for resolution whilst the Higher Chamber continue to work on issues the Government and Lower Chamber are not working on. With this system, the Higher Chamber is working on the Lower Chamber's business a term later than the Lower Chamber and the President and I are always up to date on Higher Chamber business and so we also get to work on what the people have elected their Government to do in addition to our duties as the Executives of Qaweritoyu, head of the Army and head of all Foreign Relations with Qaweritoyu. The Cadmium Sentinel.

The Cadmium Sentinel: Thank you, sir. Will the Higher Chamber be able to pass laws the Government didn't propose?

Vice-President: Thank you for your question. In short, the answer is no. In long, the answer is no because the Higher Chamber do not contain the elected Government. Whilst the amount of Marxists holding the Majority in the Higher Chamber are of the same Party as the Government, they can't come up with things the Government haven't come up with because, once again, we're not on the same page if we're going to start doing that. I'll now hand back to the President.

President: Thank you, Vice-President. The Early Bird Gazette.

The Early Bird Gazette: Thank you, sir. How will the new Higher Chamber be structured?

President: Well, it's hard to say, now, without discussing it with the Prime Minister and the Government, however, it's going to follow a similar structure to the Lower Chamber and all four Parties currently elected to the Lower Chamber will have Seats in the Higher Chamber. The Lord Speaker will remain to keep order over proceedings. This Lord Speaker must be an MP of one of the Parties elected to Parliament, much like the Lower Chamber Speaker. The Higher Chamber will continue to meet on Mondays and Fridays with the Lower Chamber being called Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and, of course, the two being allowed to be called during emergencies. Final question of the day and then the Vice-President and I really must return to the paperwork we have surrounding this reform. Capitol Record.

Capitol Record: Thank you, sir. How long will it take this process to be complete? Essentially, how long are we without a Higher Chamber in Parliament?

President: Thank you for your question. We are currently approaching our June 2021 Presidential Election and the Higher Chamber would normally dissolve in May anyway ahead of the election, as the President and I are essentially the leaders of that Chamber, and then reconvene after the election sometime. Usually they would have their Summer Holidays until the State Opening of Parliament in September but given all this is happening, they will have to be recalled a fair few times in the Summer to clear all this up and especially as they transition to working on the Lower Chamber's schedule, their Summer Holidays are also about to be severely reduced, to those of the Lower Chamber's MPs. So, we will work closely with the Lower Chamber in May, when the Higher Chamber is dissolved and aim for the changes to be discussed and completed before we reopen the Higher Chamber after the election. Thank you all for having us and thank you for coming, please do take care, safe journey home, good morning.

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Qaweritoyu · 09-08-2021, 06:42 PM

Higher Chamber Preparation for State Opening of Parliament, 6 September 2021

Speaker: Order, order. Good afternoon, everyone! It is good to see you all! Our usual day today is interrupted by the State Opening of Parliament by His Excellency the President and His Excellency the Vice-President. There is a small bit of housekeeping to bring up before we dive into that.

Firstly, their excellencies are the Head and Deputy Head of State, so as they enter, whose entrance I will herald, we stand and clap.

Secondly, we haven't sat long enough for me to know this, naturally, however, in the case we get lively, I ask you, please, not to make noise during their excellencies speeches. Keep appreciation for the end.

Thirdly, we are hosting the Lower Chamber here today, please be facilitating of them. They don't have seats, we do. We have two spare seats, they're not getting them.

Fourthly, speaking rights. Dr. Speaker Wallace and I met on Saturday to discuss how proceedings today will be managed. Dr. Speaker Wallace will only interrupt the President or Vice-President if it's regarding an issue with one of his MPs, otherwise, that right only lies with me.

Now we wait. Order!

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Qaweritoyu · 10-30-2021, 12:05 PM

President Elliott's Executive Order, Higher Chamber, 30 October 2021

Speaker: Order, order! Welcome to the Higher Chamber on an unusual day for the Higher Chamber. We have no business today, as you all know. We have an announcement, only, today, from our President and Vice-President, who are directly in charge of this Chamber.

Order! Just some housekeeping before we welcome their Excellencies to the chamber, I will only be interrupting their Excellencies if I am required to maintain order in the chamber. I hope I will not be required to do so in Qaweritoyu's most senior chamber of Parliament.

Parliament: Yeah!

Speaker: Order, order! Continuing housekeeping, as always, when the President and Vice-President enter the chamber, we rise to our feet and clap until they take up their places and sit down and we sit down only after they have done so. We do not cheer whilst the President and Vice-President is speaking, please keep cheering for the end of both speeches.

Parliament: Yeah!

Speaker: Yes! Exactly like that! Order! Once their Excellencies are in the chamber I will call on them to speak. Whilst they are speaking, we are not. I now invite you all to stand and to applaud as we welcome our President and Vice-President to the chamber.

Parliament: (Rise and applaud)

President: (Enters the chamber and stands at his seat).

Vice-President: (Enters the chamber and stands at his seat).

President and Vice-President: (Sit down).

Parliament: (Cease clapping and also sit down).

Speaker: Order, order! Your Excellencies, you are, as always, very warmly welcomed here. Without further ado, I call on the President.

President: Thank you, Lady Speaker. Lady Speaker, Lady Deputy Speaker, Lord Minister, Lord Vice-Ministers, all right honourable people sitting in this chamber, and the nation too, you are with us via Parliament TV, it is my pleasure to be here today and to address you as President of Qaweritoyu.

As you will all be aware, the Vice-President and I have been dealing with some complaints over the way the Qaz Electoral System works. Part of our process of evaluation of the system has been to sit down, consider everything and make any changes which are required to be made.

Just some history on our Electoral System, it virtually didn't exist from our founding as a Republic in 1850 until 2000, the last time the Electoral System was revamped. There are 150 years there during which the Electoral System was very loose and organising of General Elections was solely down to the Government. These decisions were never influenced by the Executive and the Executive, frankly, was never interested in them. I do realise the significance of what I have just said but, colleagues, let's just say we are blessed not to have been taken over by a dictator during this time, it would have been very easy for them to do so.

From 1850 until 2000, General and Presidential Elections only occurred when the sitting Government and Prime Minister and President, respectively, decided there was going to be an election. There were no requirements on elections and no limits on how many times candidates could run. Colleagues, there was no structure.

In 2000, His Excellency, President Dawson, introduced the first structured Electoral System our country has seen. For Presidential Elections, President Dawson introduced a limit of two full terms for each sitting President, after which they are ineligible to ever run for President again. This obliterated the possibility of becoming a Dictatorship. In addition to this, President Dawson introduced a seven-year Presidential term and mandatory Presidential Elections to occur every seven years starting in 2000, we had one of those this year, in which I was elected President.

President Dawson also introduced limits on General Elections. He granted the Government and Prime Minister the power to call snap General Elections when they like but introduced a mandatory five-year term for Prime Ministers, they could run for two of these terms before becoming ineligible to ever run for Prime Minister again. There were to be mandatory General Elections every five years in addition to whatever snap General Elections the Government decided to call.

In recent months, since my election, Vice-President Appleton and I have been evaluating President Dawson's system and seeing, in the last twenty-one years, what is working well and what is not working well. We have agreed that the Presidential System is working, along with small Executive Orders here and there to enhance the system, such as my own last year, in my former term as President. However, looking at the General System, it doesn't seem to serve any purpose at all. We had General Elections in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, in that time, we had snap General Elections in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017. No Prime Minister, in the last twenty-one years, has completed one five-year term, not just two.

Colleagues, Vice-President Appleton and I are passing an Executive Order on the General System today, with immediate effect. Under our enhancements, there will be mandatory General Elections within five years of the last election the Government called, no regular five-year elections anymore. For example, the last snap General Election was in December 2017, had the June 2020 General Election not happened, under this system, the Government would be obliged to hold another General Election no later than December 2022, though, they would be free to call the next General Election earlier should they wish to.

Colleagues, why have we done this? The Presidential System works fine, at the moment, future Presidents are free to disagree with me, we are leaving it in place. The General System was too tight. It needs loosening but within the same set of rules.

Looking ahead, colleagues, to October 2022, after this election, the newly-elected Government will be free to call the next election whenever they like but no later than October 2027. Should they call no election between October 2022 and October 2027, then an election in October 2027 is obligatory. All going well, I will still be in Office as President by then so I will be able to keep the Government in check should they fail to obey the law.

Colleagues, we want the best for our country, just as you do. These changes are made with the best intentions in mind, both for our citizens and those of us working for our citizens. Thank you, Lady Speaker. (Sits down)

Parliament: Yeah!

Speaker: Order! Orderrr! I thank the President for his speech, there certainly is a lot there to think about. I now call on the Vice-President for a short input on the same topic. The Vice-President.

Vice-President: Thank you, Lady Speaker. I would just like to take a few moments to decorate and flesh out what the President has just said.

I agree with the President, that we are working for the people of our country and working with them, also. Our changes will enhance the General System of our nation, they will give the people more time to form an opinion on the sitting Government before rushing out to vote again. They will give the Government more freedom in choosing when to hold the next election, also, and more time to structure their agenda and intended business for the years they have in Parliament.

In the last twenty-one years, Governments have struggled to work effectively, knowing their Administrations will be interrupted by an obligatory General Election. Without tht system in place, Governments will be able to focus fully on getting their Administrations organised, without trying to also allow for a General Election, interrupting things. In all cases, the General Election didn't change a thing, the same Government as was elected in the last snap General Election was re-elected, so the system was pointless, even if there were some minor changes in the other Parliamentary Parties.

We are excited to introduce this change and to see it come to live and for it to work. By this evening, this Executive Order will be passed and enforced. As of now, the October 2022 election is now officially the October 2022 General Election. Thank you, Lady Speaker. (Sits down)

Parliament: Yeah!

Speaker: Order! I thank, also, the Vice-President for his speech. I invite all to rise and applaud again now as the President and Vice-President leave the chamber.

Parliament: (Rises and applauds).

President and Vice-President: (Rise, smile and leave the chamber).

Speaker: I now call on the Minister to motion. Minister.

Minister: Lady Speaker, I motion that this chamber do now adjourn.

Speaker: The question is that this chamber do now adjourn. All as are of that opinion, say aye.

Majority: Aye.

Speaker: On the contrary, no.

Minority: No.

Speaker: Division! (To the clerk) I couldn't hear the difference, could we get the result of that, please?

Clerk: (To the Speaker) Sure. (Prints off and stands up)

Speaker: Orderrrr! Order! Order. The clerk!

Clerk: The ayes to the right, three hundred and two. The nos to the left, one hundred and ninety-eight. (Hands the slip to the Speaker)

Speaker: (To the clerk) Thank you. (To Parliament) Orderrrr! The ayes to the right, three hundred and two! The nos to the left, one hundred and ninety-eight! So, the ayes have it, the ayes have it! Thank you for coming today, see you Monday! Order, order!

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Qaweritoyu · 03-04-2022, 07:54 AM

Break Time, 4 March 2022

Scene: In the Higher Chamber Private Suite.

Speaker: (Sits down with a puff.) Ooooh, busy week.

Deputy Speaker Brookes: Tough week?

Speaker: Indeed, yes, very tough. It's all new to us, you see, because we're now discussing the Lower Chamber's business until the end of April.

Deputy Speaker Thomas: Yeah, that is strange alright.

Speaker: Yeah, ah, well, we'll cope. We might not even be voted back in, in September, then it's someone else's issue...mind you, they won't have known any different and that's if the President goes ahead with it.

Lord Minister: Is he still considering calling it all off?

Speaker: Aye, he is, yes.

Vice-Lord Minister Redman: Would that be a first for the country.

Speaker: Yes, it would, a sitting President has never blocked an ongoing election before. It would be very difficult for him to go through with it too, he'd have to heavily justify it and get it past the Vice-President who, as you know, has the power to impeach him without question.

Vice-Lord Minister Fenton: (Nodding) Why is he considering blocking it again?

Speaker: (Sighs) Well, it has nothing to do with democracy, that much is clear. From what he said at the last Higher Chamber Speakers' Council, he doesn't think there is enough variety of people running in an election.

Iris Melia: No President in the past blocked an election on those grounds.

Speaker: No President in the past has blocked an election, full stop.

Iris Melia: No, but they've never, before, paid so much attention to the diversity of candidates running for election.

Speaker: No, they've encouraged it but never enforced it, but maybe that's a good thing.

Finley Howarth: What happens if His Excellency blocks the election?

Speaker: Well, not much, really, this Government still have up to and including June 2025 before they will be obliged to hold another General Election at present and I'd say they'd be only too delighted to have another year's work to do, considered in October, they will very much be dissolving business in a very awkward position to pick up from. From what the President said to me, he said he will be insisting the current Prime Minister return to her role as Leader of the Modern Marxists and then continue on as Prime Minister until the new General Election takes place.

Kealan Moreno: Wouldn't they just call a General Election again immediately afterwards?

Speaker: No, if the President is taking such an action, one we have never seen the likes of before, he's doing so for a reason and with the intention of running the election again at a later stage, when he does that, he will have to briefly pass an Executive Order, banning elections within a certain period of time, then it is illegal for the Government to hold an election during that time and thus ensuring there is enough time to prepare for another go around. The election's not cancelled and democracy's interrupted, these things are just delayed.

Balraj Cornish: But, the Speaker and the Prime Minister won't stick around.

Speaker: They'll have to.

Balraj: No, I mean, this Prime Minister and Speaker both very firmly said time is up now, the President can force the Government and Parliament to stay put but those who are out now are still out now.

Speaker: True true. If the Speaker's time really is up, if he insists, the President could allow a Speaker's election to take place. Anyway, time to get back to work, last session and then we're done.

Scene: All up and leave, back to the Higher Chamber.

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Qaweritoyu · 03-14-2022, 11:06 AM

Higher Chamber Adjournment Debate, 14 March 2022

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order, order. Motions now come before the chamber. Minister to move.

Minister: Lady Deputy Speaker, motion on the Common Schools Act, I beg to move.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The question is that the chamber do or do not support the passing of the Common Schools Act, all as are of that opinion say aye.

The Majority: Aye!

Lady Deputy Speaker: On the contrary, no.

The Minority: No.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Division! (To the Clerk) Sorry about that, I couldn't tell if that was the majority.

Clerk: (To the Lady Deputy Speaker) It's fine, it happens, here you are.

Lady Deputy Speaker: (To the Clerk) Thank you. (To the chamber) Order, order! The Clerk.

Clerk: The ayes to the right, two hundred and ninety four. The nos to the left, two hundred and six.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The ayes to the right, two hundred and ninety four, the nos to the left, two hundred and six so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. Unlock! Minister to move.

Minister: Lady Deputy Speaker, motion on the Religious Schools Act, I beg to move.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The question is that the chamber do approve or disapprove of the passing of the Religious Schools Act, all as are of that opinion, say aye.

Minority: Aye.

Lady Deputy Speaker: On the contrary, no.

Majority: No.

Lady Deputy Speaker: I think the nos have it, the nos have it. Minister to move.

Minister: Lady Deputy Speaker, motion on the Manufacturing Public Investment Act, I beg to move.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The question is that the chamber do approve or disapprove of the passing of the Manufacturing Public Investment Act, as many as are of that opinion, say aye.

Vast Majority: Aye.

Lady Deputy Speaker: On the contrary, no.

Vast Minority: No.

Lady Deputy Speaker: I think the ayes have it, the ayes have it. Order, order! We now open the floor for this evening's Adjournment Debate. As members know, they can either speak on something covered in today's sessions or something coming up on Friday. To get us started, I call on Lavinia Knapp.

Lavinia Knapp: Thank you, Lady Deputy Speaker. The Modern Marxists have always prided themselves on disregarding the existence of religion of any sort but what happens when you live in a society where religion is allowed? What happens when you want those religious people to vote for you? You do have to meet them halfway.

Lady Deputy Speaker, I am saddened this evening at the failure of the Religious Schools Act. It is not meeting our citizens halfway. The failure of this Act tonight, with an election on the horizon, and the possibility of a new Government coming in and reversing all decisions, is not leaving our Party a good legacy. We will be looked on by those we failed in this decision as the selfish Government.

Aayan Friedman: Give way!

Lavinia Knapp: I am happy to give way to the right honourable gentleman.

Aayan Friedman: I thank the right honourable lady for giving way. She says tonight's failed Act is selfish, I fail to see how it is selfish. We voted on the Act, the majority said no to it. The people only elect us to Office, they do not also make our decisions for us or else they may as well be in Office themselves.

Lavinia Knapp: No, I realise that but my point was that our wage and our intentions are not in our best interests, the best interests of the people we serve are in our best interests and we have just written religious people out of the state-

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order, order! I invite members to be careful with their language! There is a fine difference between failing a motion and removing something from the Constitution. As long as our Constitution states religious people have the right to express themselves, a simple failure of a motion in either chamber will not revoke that right. I invite the right honourable lady to speedily conclude her speech. Lavinia Knapp.

Lavinia Knapp: Lady Deputy Speaker, we have written the religious people out of the state! What use is the Constitution giving religious people the right to express themselves without the state providing them with that right? The Government has written these people out of the state, these people will not vote for us again. Next, the Constitution will get rid of them.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order! I think Alfie-Jay Berger wants to bring us in on Manufacturing, is that right? He's poised on the edge of his seat. Go ahead, Alfie-Jay Berger.

Alfie-Jay Berger: Thank you, Lady Deputy Speaker. I feel our Government is working a little too late.

Parliament: Yeah!

Alfie-Jay Berger: Manufacturing is one of the fundamental parts of our economy which defines us as a country, as a society, as a Government. A Marxist Government who turns to transforming the economy in what might be its final year in power implies, Lady Deputy Speaker, that this is a Government which is not interested in trying very hard or, indeed, is not trying very hard, does not care about trying hard.

Reggie Beach: Give way!

Alfie-Jay Berger: I am happy to give way to the right honourable gentleman.

Reggie Beach: I am grateful to the right honourable gentleman for giving way. The Prime Minister, and in turn the Lord Minister re-enforced this, stated on a previous occasion that she was moving things slowly so that she could spare the country a recession, that's why it has taken this long!

Alfie-Jay Berger: Nah, that's a poor excuse for the way her Government has acted.

Reggie Beach: Well, it's not really, buy time whilst continuing to make use of the previous Government's policies.

Alfie-Jay Berger: The Prime Minister could have taken this slow, gentle approach at the start of her five years, instead of mucking about, not at the end.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order! I am happy to let this debate continue but please be careful when it comes to accusing the Prime Minister of inactivity, not only is it frowned upon in Parliament but you are talking about her in a chamber she does not sit in and live on TV, she could be watching and her feelings could be hurt, be nice, be fair. Alfie-Jay Berger.

Alfie-Jay Berger: Lady Deputy Speaker, I apologise if I did say anything personally hurtful towards the Prime Minister but she does need to know how slowly, and therefore ineffectively, her two Governments have worked. This Government is working too late.

Reggie Beach: Give way!

Alfie-Jay Berger: I am happy to give way to the right honourable gentleman.

Reggie Beach: I thank the right honourable gentleman for giving way. The Prime Minister needed to think about the best way to transition the economy without damaging her reputation, she made use of what the Alliance Government had put in place until she had thought about the way out.

Alfie-Jay Berger: What did the Prime Minister need to think about? If a significant change is coming to the economy, namely, capitalist to socialist, the Leader of the Modern Marxists, who becomes Prime Minister in turn, should already know how the transition needs to begin. If they have assumed Office without knowing where to start, they are not suitable to be Prime Minister.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Orderrr! Careful! Reggie Beach.

Reggie Beach: Thank you, Lady Deputy Speaker. No-one can deny the Prime Minister is totally aware of the way forward now.

Alfie-Jay Berger: Give way!

Reggie Beach: I am happy to give way to the right honourable gentleman.

Alfie-Jay Beach: I thank the right honourable gentleman for giving way. No, you're right, no-one can deny that she knows the way forward now and is a very capable Prime Minister now but when she assumed Office, she was not suitable, she did not know where to start and it showed through, she started in the wrong place.

Lady Deputy Speaker: ORDER! Orderrrr! That's enough, I have warned the chamber enough and I am frankly sick of the progression of today's business. We are moving on. For debate surrounding the restoration of public ownership to currently privately-owned essential services, Bella Clegg.

Bella Clegg: Thank you, Lady Deputy Speaker. Essential services are services we all need to live off, that's why they're essential. It is shocking that someone, or a number of people, own these services, we are at their mercy, they could shut off these services to us any time they like.

Lily-Ann Cantu: Give way!

Bella Clegg: I am happy to give way to the right honourable lady.

Lily-Ann Cantu: I thank the right honourable lady for giving way. These services also come from natural resources. In a world where the climate is becoming of more concern, these resources cannot be privately-owned because we cannot trust them to take responsibility for it themselves. We cannot have them going along at their own pace or, even, risk them not taking any action at all. When we have ownership of these services, we can monitor them all equally and ensure they remain at the same level, achieving the same goals we need them all to achieve.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order! Minister to move.

Minister: Lady Deputy Speaker, the motion is that this chamber do now adjourn, I beg to move.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The question is that this chamber do now adjourn, as many as are of that opinion, say aye.

Vast Minority: Aye.

Lady Deputy Speaker: On the contrary, no.

Vast Majority: No.

Lady Deputy Speaker: I think the nos have it, the nos have it. Madihah Whittle.

Madihah Whittle: Thank you, Lady Deputy Speaker. In private ownership, resources act like just another asset that can be invested in. Public ownership is modeled by assuming that the revenues from resource extraction are equally distributed among the population and thus act as an additional source of income to all households. The rate of resource extraction is decided upon by voting.

Sonnie Parsons: Give way!

Madihah Whittle: I am happy to give way to the right honourable gentleman.

Sonnie Parsons: I am grateful to the right honourable lady for giving way. Natural resources are a special kind of property, because in a sense they belong to the public. There are in fact pros and cons to both. Public ownership may be better at benefiting the region the resources are located in.

Neve Knapp: Give way!

Sonnie Parsons: I am happy to give way to the right honourable lady.

Neve Knapp: I am grateful to the right honourable gentleman for giving way. Of course, efficiency and profitability are important, but our goal should be to maximise the welfare of our citizens. Is private ownership still preferable to public ownership?

Lady Deputy Speaker: Order! Minister to move!

Minister: Lady Deputy Speaker, the motion is that this chamber do now adjourn, I beg to move.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The question is that this chamber do now adjourn, as many as are of that opinion, say aye.

Majority: Aye.

Lady Deputy Speaker: On the contrary, no.

Minority: No.

Lady Deputy Speaker: Division! (To the Clerk) May we have the official paper, please.

Clerk: (To the Lady Deputy Speaker) Absolutely, here we go.

Lady Deputy Speaker: (To the Clerk) Thank you. (To the Chamber) Order! The Clerk!

Clerk: The ayes to the right, three hundred and forty two, the nos to the left, one hundred and fifty eight.

Lady Deputy Speaker: The ayes to the right, three hundred and forty two, the nos to the left, one hundred and fifty eight, so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. Order, order! (To the Clerk) Thank you for your work this evening.

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