Can the Speaker be a minister?

Thank you for your question. No member of the House of Representatives has been both Speaker of the House of Representatives and a minister at the sametime. This is because the 2 roles are very different.

An important part of the role of Speaker is that they are impartial and do not support one side or the other. Ministers are key members of the government and are required to support government decisions, which they would not be able to if they were sitting in the Speaker’s chair. The Speaker’s role is to run meetings of the House; ministers participate in the meetings by giving speeches, introducing bills or answering questions during Question Time.