Page 3017 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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MR MOORE (3.10): Madam Speaker, the Clerk has just drawn my attention to the fact that the word "rising" effectively achieves what my amendment will achieve, so I will save the attendants the time and effort involved in distributing that amendment and not put it, because I accept that if we wish to ask a question we rise to get the call. Therefore, Mr Stevenson's motion does exactly what is needed.
Madam Speaker, this has been a matter of some frustration. In fact, before we moved to our new Assembly building we had quite a number of discussions with the Government over resolving this issue. There was a commitment from the Government to see what they could do to ensure that at question time members were treated fairly and were given the opportunity to ask questions. Madam Speaker, I think that you have always reasonably distributed questions around the chamber. I do not have a problem with that. I recognise that other members also have been in the same position as I, not only this week but in other sitting times, where they do not have the opportunity to ask a question. It is a little more awkward, I believe, for somebody like me than it is for members of the Liberal Party, where the party can work around how they are going to ensure that they get the questions they consider it critical to ask. When you have the opportunity to ask only one question, then it is rather important.
Madam Speaker, I would strongly recommend to members that this would be a more equitable way to ensure that at question time there are no restrictions on Ministers about how much time they take to answer the question. It is not meant to do that; it is just to ensure that members do have the opportunity to ask a question.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (3.12): Madam Speaker, I will speak very briefly on this matter, since it is usually my prerogative to close off question time. I will say at the outset that the Government will not be opposing this motion. I am sure that members are aware that, on absolutely every occasion when they have indicated to me that every member wanted to ask a question, I have agreed to that.
Mr Humphries: Who? Us?
MS FOLLETT: Indeed.
Mr Humphries: What? Us?
MS FOLLETT: That is indeed the case. I have repeatedly let question time run well over its allotted period in order to help people to get their questions asked. I do not know of any other parliament in the world where every non-executive member gets to ask a question every day. I am prepared to give it a go because it is not doing us any harm, I can assure you.
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