Spotlight on iPad use in parliament

18:44 AEDT Wed Feb 15 2012

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Not all politicians are keeping abreast of national affairs when they tap away at their iPads during parliament.

An opposition frontbencher has been accused of playing Solitaire as Prime Minister Julia Gillard addressed the lower house on Wednesday morning.

Labor MP Yvette D'Ath claims she was sitting with school students in the gallery when one of them spotted the unnamed MP enjoying the single player card game.

Ms D'Ath said she had no objections to iPads being used in parliament but questioned if such behaviour was appropriate considering the importance of the occasion.

The prime minister was at the time making a 30-minute address to parliament about the Closing the Gap report on indigenous disadvantage.

Speaker Peter Slipper said that while some MPs might consider playing Solitaire a good use of chamber time, he didn't approve of it.

But it's not against the lower house rules, which allow politicians to use laptops and to text on mobile phones.

"I don't think that playing Solitaire is probably beyond the standing orders," he said.

"But I don't think that it's necessarily a good use of technology in the House of Representative of the Australian parliament."

Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8420178/spotlight-on-ipad-use-in-parliament

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