Michael Berkman, Amy McMahon referred to ethics committee

Queensland’s Greens MPs are in hot water for potentially breaching parliament’s rules, both referred to the powerful ethics committee for separate alleged infractions.

Queensland’s Greens MPs are in hot water for potentially breaching parliament’s rules, with the Speaker referring the pair to the powerful ethics committee on separate alleged infractions.

Speaker Curtis Pitt, on the penultimate day of parliament for the year, announced to the chamber, he had referred Maiwar MP Michael Berkman and South Brisbane MP Amy MacMahon to the ethics committee - the former for a social media post and the latter for not sticking to proper process for introducing bills.

Mr Berkman has been criticised for a social media post he put up in the aftermath of a chaotic anti-coal protest launched from the parliament’s public gallery by Extinction Rebellion on Wednesday.

Maiwar MP Michael Berkman in parliament for Question Time. File picture: Liam Kidston.

The protesters are separately facing potential criminal charges for their actions.

According to the rules of parliament, it is contemptuous for MPs to make “public statements either orally or in writing, inciting or encouraging disruption of the Legislative Assembly by bringing the proper proceedings of the assembly or its committees into disrepute”.

Mr Berkman, in the post, said the message of the anti-coal and gas protesters were “absolutely right”.

“We need to stop coal and gas. And we need to keep saying it until the major parties start listening,” he wrote.

Mr Pitt told parliament the protesters had made some MPs feel unsafe in their place of work and had attempted to “shut down democracy by being the loudest voice in the chamber and disrupting the assemblies process”.

State Brisbane MP Amy McMahon. File picture: Richard Walker

“It is unacceptable for our members to participate, incite or encourage such a protest,” he said.

Dr MacMahon was admonished by Mr Pitt for the way she has been putting forward private members bills, the latest error made on Wednesday when she tried to propose laws designed to give every adult Queenslander a $500 Christmas cash gift by hiking gas royalties.

Under the rules, proposed laws that involve a revenue measure and spending government cash must come paired with a note of recommendation from the governor.

“Members have a right to introduce Private Member’s bills and have them considered further, members do not have the right to ignore the rules and introduce bills that they know are out of order,” Mr Pitt said.

“This was not the first time or the second time, but the third time the member has engaged in this activity. It wastes time. It wastes resources. It shows a blatant disrespect for speaker and the assembly.”

A decision from the ethics committee on both issues will likely not be made by the end of the year.