Page 4577 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 20 November 1991
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So, there is a great interest in question time. That is certainly shown in the Federal Parliament, because question time is televised. Indeed, I think our own question time should be put out on radio. I would not televise it. I think that is going beyond the pale. But certainly people in the community should have an opportunity to hear what happens in parliament, and why not start with the broadcasting of question time? I think it would interest a great many people in Canberra. They would have the opportunity to hear about these day-to-day issues. It would, perhaps, get them more involved in the Assembly - more involved in their responsibility for taking care of what happens in government.
I think one of the important factors about questions is that it allows accountability of government. It does that by giving members the opportunity to be a watchdog on arbitrary decisions. We can press for remedial action on the many things that we feel may need attention, and these can be brought up very rapidly. You can see something that needs to be handled in the morning and bring it up in the afternoon on a sitting day.
I think it is interesting to note that, in Federal Parliament, it was not until the 1950s that questions without notice became official. Prior to that, questions were unofficially allowed. If the Minister was prepared to answer a question, then the Speaker was prepared to allow it to be asked. As far as the number of questions asked is concerned, I think it was in the early 1930s that 18 or 19 questions was a record; but, in 1940, 43 questions were asked in a 50-minute period. Where I read that, it was also mentioned that, of course, the answers were clear and concise, as were the questions. What a wonderful opportunity for us to follow along that same line.
I think there have been many times when we have not had the opportunity to ask important questions, simply because so much time has been wasted. When we do get the opportunity to ask a question, it is unfortunate that it is not answered. Yesterday, there was an example of that in this Assembly. I asked a question of Mr Wood on non-government schools. I said:
... our poll results of over 600 people throughout Canberra show that 59 per cent are opposed to budget cuts ... while only 35 per cent are in support.
I asked whether the Labor Government had asked that polling question, and whether, under those circumstances, it would reconsider the matter. Unfortunately, Mr Wood failed to answer the question. He made some mildly derogatory statements about my surveys and so on. I asked a supplementary question and, once again, he said:
Again, they are Mr Stevenson's surveys.
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