Christine shuts down Saddam

SADDAM HOSEIN, Opposition Senator, was cut off prematurely from his speech on the Income Tax Amendment Bill after falling foul of Senate President Christine Kangaloo on Tuesday.

Initially he alleged the bill had “morphed into a political tool for witch-hunting.”

Hosein alleged, “This is an election year and you are putting your arsenal in place.”

Kangaloo rose to chide him for tedious repetition of points already made.

He accused Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi of misleading the Senate by claiming that in the Joint Select Committee (JSC) the Opposition had agreed to drop a clause in the bill.

Kangaloo chided him, saying, “You do know that is imputing improper motives. So please find a different way. Apologise. Withdraw that statement.”

Hosein withdrew and resumed, “The Attorney General would have misrepresented the views of the Opposition.” Again Kangaloo reined him in. “Senator Hosein! Please! Please!”

Hosein complied, and continued, saying three Opposition members had never agreed to remove an item in the JSC.

“What we agreed to is that if you can provide us with the evidence that the passage of the Income Tax Bill alone will take us off the blacklist, we will agree,” Hosein explained.

Kangaloo interjected. “Senator Hosein. Please take your seat. I have cautioned you, repeatedly, on your presentation and during your presentation. You are still ignoring what I have pointed you to. So I’m now going to call on the next speaker.”