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Ch8 Order of business and the sitting day / ORDER OF BUSINESS / Ordinary order of business / Question Time



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House of Representatives                                Ch 8                                                 p 253

 

Order of business and the sitting day / ORDER OF BUSINESS / Ordinary order of business

 

Question Time

Although Question Time is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., other matters sometimes intervene before the Speaker calls for questions without notice—for example, ministerial arrangements may be announced, the deaths of former Members may be reported or condolence motions may be moved, valedictory remarks made, 1 or the consideration of a bill completed. 2 Standing orders have been suspended to alter the time. 3

The length of time the House devotes to Question Time is controlled by the Government. 4 The Prime Minister or the senior Minister present determines the time for questions to conclude by asking that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper, 5 and may do so even if a Member is in the process of asking a question or has received the call to ask a question. 6 It has become the established practice for Governments to allow at least 45 minutes each day for questions without notice. 7 In recent years periods of one hour or longer have been common (the number of questions tending to be the benchmark). After Question Time has concluded, a Minister may wish:

  • to provide information which has come to hand in relation to a question asked earlier; 8
  • to provide additional information in respect of an answer given earlier; or
  • to correct an answer given earlier.
  • It is within the province of the Chair to grant indulgence for this to be done.

    Questions without notice, having been called on by the Chair, may not be proceeded with if the Prime Minister or a Minister in charge of arrangements 9 immediately asks that they be placed on notice. This may happen on occasions when the time of the House has been taken up by another matter, for example, when debate on a no confidence or censure motion has been given precedence. 10

    For more detail on Question Time procedures see Chapter on ‘Questions’.



    E.g. H.R. Deb (27.9.2001) 31683.



    E.g. H.R. Deb (23.10.2002) 8456.



    E.g. VP 1998-2001/1999, 2010.



    H.R. Deb. (28.10.54) 2410.



    See ruling VP 1973-74/69.



    H.R. Deb. (4.5.60) 1333; H.R. Deb. (9.10.96) 5061-2.



    H.R. Deb. (13.3.73) 465-6, see Ch. on ‘Questions’.



    H.R. Deb. (31.5.73) 2938-9; H.R. Deb. (22.8.96) 3589-90.



     VP 1993-95/814-6.



    H.R. Deb. (29.10.75) 2593; VP 1993-95/2689.