The Privileges and Procedures Committee’s proposition outlining the move was approved by 26 votes to 19 following a relatively short debate.
The committee’s chairman Deputy Russell Labey urged Members to support the proposals, claiming that some debates in the Assembly ‘outlive their usefulness’.
‘Members tend to have short memories and we do block out bad memories,’ he said.
‘There have been some debates where Members have been in the coffee room with their ears bleeding saying when will this end? This is a tool to prevent this torture from happening.’
The Deputy said that proposers and primary responders in debates would not have their time limited.
He added that the move would actually allow time for more Members to speak in circumstances where the Assembly decides to end a debate through a ‘guillotine’ motion.
Under the proposals the States speaker would have the ability to allow longer speeches or apply a shorter time-frame, if necessary.
Deputy Montfort Tadier, an opponent of the proposals, withdrew eight amendments he lodged shortly before the debate. During his critique of the proposals, he said that a Member could lodge several amendments in this manner and be able to ‘speak as long as they like’.
He added that he believed the proposals had ‘many holes’ and could put the States speaker, who is usually the Bailiff, in an ‘invidious position’ where they would drag themselves into the political arena by making calls on how long Members’ speeches should be.
St Lawrence Constable Deidre Mezbourian also said she would vote against the move, having rejected similar proposals in the past.
‘We regard this imposition of a time limit as a violation of our democratic right as elected members to address this Assembly,’ she said.
Another opponent, Senator Lyndon Farnham, said that Jersey’s small assembly did not need to emulate other larger parliaments where time limits were applied and were more necessary in his view.
He added that the ‘best stop watch’ for when to end a debate was the ‘moans and groans’ of other Members due to boredom and in some cases their ‘gentle snoring’.
St John Constable Chris Taylor urged Members to support the proposition, claiming they could vote on the exact rules when they come back to the Assembly for finalisation.
HOW THEY VOTED:
FOR
Constables: Norman, Le Sueur-Rennard, Jackson, Le Maistre, Taylor, Le Sueur, Vibert, Le Bailly, Buchanan and Shenton-Stone. Deputies: Lewis, Maçon, Pinel, Luce, Renouf, R Labey, Wickenden, Johnson, Truscott, Ash, Guida, Huelin, Raymond, Perchard, Pamplin and Gardiner. (26)
AGAINST
Senators: Gorst, Farnham, Ferguson, Vallois, Le Fondré, Pallett and Mézec. Constable: Mezbourian. Deputies: Martin, Southern, C Labey, Tadier, Young, Morel, Pointon, Le Hegarat, Ahier, Ward and Alves. (19)
