Received

Canterbury forward Corey Waddell has been found guilty of gouging Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's eyes and banned for five matches.

The NRL judiciary, comprising Dallas Johnson and Bob Lindner and chaired by Justice Geoffrey Bellew, deliberated for roughly 15 minutes on Tuesday night before unanimously finding Waddell's contact with the Gold Coast captain had been dangerous and reckless.

The match review committee referred Waddell directly to the NRL judiciary on a dangerous contact charge, meaning he had no option to enter a plea.

Waddell told the judiciary he had been attempting to bring Fa'asuamaleaui to the ground in a tackle when his arm reached over a teammate and onto the Titans captain's forehead.

Waddell insisted he had only touched the forehead and bridge of Fa'asuamaleaui's nose, doing so by accident and without applying pressure.

But after listening to NRL counsel Patrick Knowles, the judiciary was satisfied Waddell's middle and index fingers had come into contact with Fa'asuamaleaui's eye socket.

Knowles said it was "implausible" no contact had been made with the eyes given their proximity to the nose and forehead, adding there would be no reason for Waddell's hand to be on Fa'asuamaleaui's face in a tackle if not to apply pressure.

He presented a close-up image of the incident that the judiciary found to be persuasive.

Nicolaous Ghabar, counsel for Waddell, said video footage of the incident did not reveal whether there had been scraping or digging across the eye consistent with posing serious risk of injury.

But the judiciary found there was risk of injury regardless of the nature of the contact with the eye.

Ghabar questioned why Fa'asuamaleaui had not been called to give evidence and given the lack of visible injury caused by Waddell's actions, questioned whether he had played for a penalty by complaining to the on-field referee.

Knowles said the referee's incident report was evidence enough that Fa'asuamaleaui felt his eyes had been contacted and said players would be reluctant to give evidence against fellow players due to an unwritten code.

Knowles suggested a ban of at least five matches, citing Waddell's apparent lack of contrition and the serious nature of making contact with a rival player's eye.

Ghabar said Waddell did not demonstrate a lack of contrition, but genuinely felt the contact was an accident.

He said the "modest level of force" and "low level contact" with the eyes were consistent with a two-match suspension, but he was unsuccessful.

The judiciary opted to hand Waddell a five-match ban in the hopes it would deter other players from committing similar offences.

He will miss upcoming games against Newcastle, North Queensland, the Warriors, Parramatta and Cronulla and will not be available for selection until the Bulldogs' final game of the season, to be played against Manly.

© AAP 2022

The newest Speaker of the House of Representatives has welcomed the challenge of restoring order and respect to the Australian parliament.

Queensland MP Milton Dick was elected 32nd Speaker by his parliamentary colleagues on Tuesday.

He pledged to allow spirited debate in a respectful manner, acknowledging predecessors who had made the same promise.

"The difference is the people of Australia sent a very clear message on how they expect politics to be conducted, they want something different," he told parliament.

"I'm keen to work with every member to see that change but I need every member to commit to that change to make it work."

Mr Dick said his priorities would be ensuring an inclusive parliament that was also a safe workplace for all.

"My message to every member of this place is simple: my door is open," he said.

Before his election to federal parliament in 2016, Mr Dick was formerly a Brisbane City councillor and Queensland Labor state secretary.

He will no longer attend Labor party room meetings to fulfil his requirement as an impartial Speaker.

Mr Dick was described as a generous soul, careful listener, thoughtful and reasonable, with a "prodigious memory for numbers".

While the opposition endorsed former speaker Andrew Wallace for the role, leader Peter Dutton congratulated Mr Dick on securing the position.

In a secret ballot, Mr Dick won 96 votes to Mr Wallace's 56.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated the new Speaker on his election and thanked Mr Wallace for his service.

"One of the things I've noticed about (Mr Dick) is that people will come to you for assistance and guidance," he said.

"You are someone who has always conducted yourself with extraordinary propriety."

The election of the Speaker was the first in a series of ceremonial events to mark the opening of Australia's 47th parliament.

The 151 members of the lower house were sworn in and pledged their allegiance to her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors.

Among them, seven new independents took their place among the 15-strong crossbench and celebrated with hugs and handshakes.

Speaking at the welcome to country ceremony earlier, Mr Albanese urged his colleagues to make the most of their time in parliament.

His government is set to hit the ground running, introducing 18 pieces of legislation in the first week.

On the prime minister's initial legislative agenda are the aged care, labour, climate and domestic violence crises.

Proposed aged care reforms include putting nurses into nursing homes, stopping high administration and management fees, and improving the integrity and accountability of residential facilities.

Labor intends to enshrine a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 into a law that will also require the climate minister to report annually to parliament on Australia's progress.

A proposal to introduce 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave will be unveiled.

In the jobs and skills sector, the government will propose a new statutory body to provide independent advice on workforce needs and help tackle Australia's labour crisis.

Governor-General David Hurley will address all members of parliament, outlining the priorities of the new government in the next three years.

Four new MPs elected on May 21 will make their first speeches to parliament in the evening.

Labor MPs Sally Sitou (Reid) and Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan) will begin, followed by Liberal MP Aaron Violi (Casey) and independent MP Zoe Daniel (Goldstein).

© AAP 2022

The newest Speaker of the House of Representatives has welcomed the challenge of restoring order and respect to the Australian parliament.

Queensland MP Milton Dick was elected 32nd Speaker by his parliamentary colleagues on Tuesday, pledging to allow spirited debate in a respectful manner and acknowledging predecessors who had made the same promise.

"The difference is the people of Australia sent a very clear message on how they expect politics to be conducted, they want something different," he told parliament.

Mr Dick said his priorities would be ensuring an inclusive parliament that was also a safe workplace for all.

"My message to every member of this place is simple: my door is open," he said.

Before his election to federal parliament in 2016, Mr Dick was formerly a Brisbane City councillor and Queensland Labor state secretary.

He will no longer attend Labor partyroom meetings to fulfil his requirement as an impartial Speaker.

Mr Dick was described as a generous soul, careful listener, thoughtful and reasonable with a "prodigious memory for numbers".

While the opposition endorsed former speaker Andrew Wallace for the role, leader Peter Dutton congratulated Mr Dick on securing the position.

In a secret ballot, Mr Dick won 96 votes to Mr Wallace's 56.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated the new Speaker on his election and thanked Mr Wallace for his service.

NSW Labor MP Sharon Claydon was elected deputy speaker and WA Liberal MP Ian Goodenough the second deputy.

A series of ceremonial events marked the opening of Australia's 47th parliament.

The 151 members of the lower house were sworn in and pledged their allegiance to her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors.

Among them, seven new independents took their places among the 15-strong crossbench and celebrated with hugs and handshakes.

In an address, Governor-General David Hurley asked parliamentarians to unite the nation during the next term of government.

Speaking at the welcome to country ceremony earlier, Mr Albanese urged his colleagues to make the most of their time in parliament.

His government is set to hit the ground running, introducing 18 pieces of legislation in the first week.

On the prime minister's initial legislative agenda are the aged care, labour, climate and domestic violence crises.

Proposed aged care reforms include putting nurses into nursing homes, stopping high administration and management fees, and improving the integrity and accountability of residential facilities.

Labor intends to enshrine a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 into a law that will also require the climate minister to report annually to parliament on Australia's progress.

A proposal to introduce 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave will be unveiled.

In the jobs and skills sector, the government will propose a new statutory body to provide independent advice on workforce needs and help tackle Australia's labour crisis.

During an evening condolence motion, the parliament paid tribute to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe who was shot and killed earlier this month.

© AAP 2022