He had asked permission of MLC President Meredith Burgmann, and been denied. The reason given is a centuries-old tradition that arms (weapons) are not brought iinto the Houses of Parliament. The convention is still upheld today, with special arrangements for Police Officers to leave teh ir weapons securely.
Mr Scully then went to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, a member of his own party, and ... surprise, surprise ... got approval.
There are several things to note here:
- Mr Scully was denied permission by the Leader of teh House in which he sits. I believe Dr Burgmann was right to refuse permission.
- Mr Scully then sought a "second opinion" from a member of his own party. In so doing, he contravened the long-standing, sensible, convention about not brining arms into the NSW Parliament.
- Mr Scully could easily have staged the demonstration, by the Police, in Police Headquarters!
That he chose to defy convention, and permission, really does show his arrogance, and was rather priggish behaviour. We voters neither need, nor want, political grandstanding.
The Analyst
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