Lockwood Smith: Former Speaker on the testy exchange between Trevor Mallard and National

Trevor Mallard is again facing pressure to stand down.
The Speaker sparked a testy debate with National MPs last night after he said under Parliamentary Privilege a worker had committed sexual assault.
Mallard has previously apologised to the worker for wrongly accusing him of rape.
Leader of the House Chris Hipkins says the debate didn't reflect well on Parliament or the people involved, and Jacinda Ardern will release a statement on the matter today.
Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith says members should be able to make personal statements.
But he told Kerre McIvor as Speaker, he made sure that right was never abused.
“That personal statement had to be explaining something with respect to the member themselves, not someone else, so there are meant to be important boundaries around these things.”
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