What does 'I move that the member be no longer heard' mean?

Under the Standing Orders – rules – of the House of Representatives, a member of parliament can move a motion – a formal proposal – that the member who is speaking ‘be no longer heard’. This means the member must stop speaking. Members then vote on this motion. If the motion is passed, the member who was speaking must immediately resume their seat. The motion only applies to the speech which is currently in progress.

The Senate does not have a similar procedure to ‘gag’ or stop a senator from speaking. However, under the Standing Orders of the Senate, the President of the Senate can warn a senator about irrelevance or tedious repetition and direct them to discontinue their speech. The senator can either choose to follow the President’s direction or ask that the question be decided on by a vote of the Senate. Since time limits on speeches were introduced, this has rarely occurred.