Bignell’s naughty list: Blue-ribbon MP kicked out of SA Parliament most
Liberal MPs were sent out of State Parliament nearly nine times more than Labor members in the House of Assembly in 2025, according to an analysis by InDaily.
In State Parliament sitting weeks from February to November 13, 2025, members of the SA Liberals were kicked out of Question Time 52 times compared to Labor’s six, according to InDaily’s tally based on Hansard’s latest records.
The member who was ejected the most times by Speaker Leon Bignell was Unley Liberal MP David Pisoni, who was withdrawn from the chamber 12 times.
Pisoni was closely followed by Flinders Liberal MP Sam Telfer, who was removed 11 times.
Pisoni was not surprised by his winning role in MPs being withdrawn the most times in 2025, stating that interjecting “is sometimes the only way to be heard from the Opposition”.
Pisoni claimed to have been removed more than any other member without warning, adding that “there’s no doubt that government members get away with a lot more than Opposition members”, but “that’s just the nature of the difference between being in government and being in Opposition”.
“I tend to time my interjections when it’s not noisy and usually when the Premier is making an outrageous claim, and consequently, I’ve been removed from the chamber for doing so,” he said.
Pisoni said that what he objects to most is when the contents of the interjection, rather than the interjection itself, lead to a member being kicked out.
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“In other words, it might be something that the government doesn’t like, something that embarrasses the government, rather than the interjection itself – that might be an infringement of the democratic process or freedom of speech,” he said.
“Fair enough if you are a repetitious interjector, that you’re kicked out, but I think being kicked out for what you’re saying is a different matter.”
Asked about the most memorable time he was ejected from parliament, Pisoni said there was a moment when the Premier was referring to the alleged behaviour of Liberal MPs, and he interjected.
“I reminded the Premier about the child pornography convictions of Bernard Finnegan … and I was thrown out for that,” he said.
When Pisoni is withdrawn from the chamber, he says he continues watching Question Time from his office.
“I’m still participating but not in with everybody else, and obviously, it’s no point interjecting from your office. It’s a bit like an old man shouting at clouds,” he said.
Parliament’s transcript record Hansard revealed that from the Liberal side of the Lower House, Morphett MP Stuart Patterson and Morialta MP John Gardner were each withdrawn seven times from the chamber, Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone six times, Hammond MP Adrian Pederick four times and Colton MP Matt Cowdrey twice.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader and Hartley MP Vincent Tarzia, Frome MP Penny Pratt and Heysen MP Josh Teague were each sent out of the chamber during Question Time once.
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On the Labor side of politics, Florey member Michael Brown had the record at three removals by Bignell, who was a Labor MP for the seat of Mawson but had to resign from the Labor Party when he was made Speaker in 2024.
Taylor MP Nick Champion, Cheltenham MP Joe Szakacs and Newland MP Olivia Savvas were each withdrawn from the chamber once during this time period.
Bignell quoted former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when asked about people who might say the disparity was unfair, stating, “As Margaret Thatcher may say: ‘Who are these some people?’”
“I’d say if you went back over the history of parliaments, those states are always along the same ratios,” he said.
“Observers of parliaments know that the nature of the Westminster system means oppositions are generally rowdier than the government members.
“The important stat is how many questions did the opposition get to ask while I was Speaker. I’m the first Speaker at least since 2018 to give the opposition more than 80 per cent of all questions asked during question time.”
Bignell announced he would retire at the March 2026 State Election after an almost 20-year career in politics, and in his last session in parliament last week, he told how Liberal MP for Chaffey Tim Whetstone was the first person he “chucked out”.
Bignell was elected as the Labor member for Mawson in March 2006 and took on the role of Speaker in April 2024.
During his time in State Parliament, he has also served as Tourism, Recreation and Sport, Racing, Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and Forests Minister.
Pisoni would also retire at next year’s election, having served for almost 20 years as the Member for Unley.
He stressed that the removals were the nature of the Westminster political system.
“They are the rules, and I mean, I’ll make it clear I’m not the slightest bit concerned or upset about being thrown out, it’s part of the process,” he said.
“The robust adversarial system that we have in Australia does, in fact, deliver one of the best political systems. We keep each other accountable.
“The Opposition is very limited in how they can do that in the parliament, and so interjections are used.”
During his time in Parliament, Pisoni served as the Innovation and Skills Minister and the Industry and Skills Minister under the Marshall Liberal government.
