There were explosive scenes at Parliament last night, when Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard went on the attack over the controversy in which he mistakenly accused a former parliamentary staffer of rape.
Mallard told the House the man he wrongly accused of rape in 2019 did carry out a serious sexual assualt, prompting anger from the National Party as he did it using parliamentary privilege.
He's been under pressure for months from the Opposition, which claims his conduct makes him unfit for office, and he should be removed.
Mallard was mounting a defence for his actions after the defamation case he settled last year, costing taxpayers more than $330,000.
Here's political editor Jane Patterson.
