Thursday, 4 June 2026

 The SPEAKER (14:44): Yesterday during constituency questions the member for Glen Waverley asked the minister what would happen if the opposition were elected and implemented their policies. Previous rulings have allowed questions seeking responses from ministers about their plans or preparations to respond to events, plans or circumstances that have not yet occurred or been implemented. This of course is in order because it is reasonable for members to anticipate that ministers have prepared for future possibilities and scenarios, and therefore reasonable for members to ask ministers about those plans. However, even in reference to a possible event that has not happened yet, the question must relate to matters a minister controls or could be anticipated to control within their portfolio. The member’s question explicitly asks the minister what will happen if the minister is no longer a minister. The minister can only respond in supposition, and therefore the question is hypothetical and I rule the question out of order.