Legislative Assembly
Parliament of
Fact Sheet 15
Guide for Visitors to Question Time
Question time is often seen as the highlight of a sitting day in
Parliament. It can be one of the few
occasions when visitors see all the Legislative Assembly members in the House
at the one time. It is of great interest
to the media, and the public galleries are usually full. This fact sheet is intended to help visitors
understand some of the procedures that take place during question time.
Questions Without Notice
Question time allows members to ask ministers for information relating
to Government administration.
It is a relatively new procedure, the first question being asked in the
House on
When is Question Time Held?
In the Legislative Assembly it is held at
Who Attends Question Time?
As question time is a very important part of the sitting day, all
members of the House usually attend.
Ministers are expected to attend.
If a minister is unable to be present the Premier will indicate which
minister will answer questions on his/her behalf.
The Speaker
The Speaker presides over the sittings of the Legislative Assembly and
sits in the chair at the top of the Chamber.
Members elect a Speaker at the start of a new Parliament, usually
choosing a Government member. The
Speaker’s role is to maintain order in the House and ensure proper
parliamentary procedures and practices of the House are followed. In doing so, the Speaker must remain
impartial and treat all members of the House equally. See
Fact Sheet 23: The Speaker.
Question time can be very disorderly, with points of
order being raised and interjections made back and forward across the House. It
is a very demanding time for the Speaker.
Where do Members Sit?
Members of the Government sit to the right of the
Speaker as well as on some of the cross benches on the left facing the
Speaker. Members of the Opposition, The
Nationals and Independent members share the benches to the left of the Speaker.
Ministers sit on the front row of the Government
benches and move to the Table to reply to questions. The Opposition shadow ministers sit on the
front row of the benches to the left of the Speaker, also moving to the Table
to ask questions. The Leaders and Deputy
Leaders of the parties sit around the Table.
The Table
The
Clerks sit at the Table in front of the Speaker. They advise the Speaker and members on
parliamentary procedures and practices.
In front of the Clerks are books which they use for reference such as:
· Standing orders (rules of the House)
· Sessional orders (temporary rules of the House for the
session)
· Speakers’ rulings
· Erskine May’s
Parliamentary Practice.
Also on the Table is a complete set of the Victorian
Statutes (all laws of
Galleries
Above
the Speaker’s chair is the press gallery.
Representatives from newspapers, radio and television attend, with
question time being filmed. At the opposite end of the Chamber, both upstairs
and downstairs, are the public galleries. The front rows of the downstairs
galleries are reserved for guests of the Speaker and members of the Legislative
Council. For question time the public
galleries are well attended by various groups and visitors.
Hansard
Hansard is the official printed report of the debates
in the House. In
Parliament
employs Hansard reporters to record the debates in the House using either a Stenotype
shorthand machine or audiodigital recording. They sit in the far right hand corner of the Chamber
and, because of the pace of question time and production deadlines, they
alternate every seven to ten minutes.
Who Gets the Call?
When the Speaker calls ‘Questions without notice — Are
there any questions’, members from both sides of the House stand in their
places to attract the Speaker’s attention.
The call (ie a member’s turn to ask a question) is at the discretion of
the Speaker, but a practice is established that the first call is generally
given to the Opposition, and is usually the Leader of the Opposition, the
question normally being directed to the Premier. The call then normally alternates between
speakers on each side of the House.
What Questions can be Asked?
Question time is a very spontaneous time in the House
as ministers have no prior notice of the questions being asked by
non-Government members. Opposition
members are tempted to emphasise matters which could embarrass the Government.
Government backbench members often ask arranged questions to make the
Government look good or to put forward their policies and initiatives. These are known as ‘Dorothy Dix’ questions.
Questions may be put to ministers relating to public affairs, business
of the House or to the administration of their particular portfolio. Members may also ask questions about areas of
administration that are the responsibility of a minister in the Legislative
Council. A minister in the Legislative
Assembly answers the question on behalf of that minister.
Questions and Answers — Language
The Speaker may direct that the language of a question
be changed if it seems to be unbecoming or not conforming with the standing orders
(rules of the House) and conventions of the House. When members ask questions, they must not
give an opinion, or state any facts, except to explain the question if
necessary. In answering the question the
minister must not debate the matter to which the question refers.
Rules for
Visitors in the Gallery
Visitors are always welcome in the public
gallery. However, there are certain
rules that apply, for example:
·
Visitors must not
interject, attempt to communicate with members, display notices or cause a
disturbance
·
Visitors should
be appropriately dressed
·
Eating, drinking
and smoking are not permitted
·
Photography,
filming and videoing of proceedings are not permitted.
Note Taking for Personal Use in the Gallery
It had been a longstanding practice in the Legislative Assembly of
prohibiting note taking in the public gallery.
The prohibition stems from rules originally adopted by the House of
Commons in the seventeenth century to ensure debates were kept secret from the
then monarch.
Because of the demand for a more immediate knowledge of proceedings in
Parliament and a wide range of people using the public galleries, on
Members of the public should be aware that any notes
taken should not be published as they are not legally protected. Hansard is the only official version of the debates
in the Legislative Assembly.
Issued by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, November
2004
Fact Sheets
The Legislative Assembly Procedure Office
has produced a series of Fact Sheets that explain parliamentary procedure and
terminology. All Fact Sheets are available on Parliament’s website www.parliament.vic.gov.au
or through the Procedure Office. Contact Details
Procedure Office, Legislative Assembly,
Parliament House, Spring Street, Phone No: 03
9651 8563 Fax No: 03 9650 7245 Email: assembly@parliament.vic.gov.au |