Reforms needed to keep Question Time relevant

The Opposition is urging the Government to accept reforms to make Question Time relevant, according to Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne.

"If a Minister can't answer a question in four minutes, it is a sign they are either wasting the public's time with pointless rhetoric, or they are waffling to cover their own lack of understanding of their portfolio responsibilities. Either way the time has come to end this indulgence,"" said Mr Pyne.

"Ideally these reforms wouldn't be necessary - if the Prime Minister did not insist on delivering rambling twelve and a half minute answers to questions and if his Ministers ever bothered to answer the questions actually asked by Opposition Members rather than treating them as an excuse for vile invective, the public might have more faith in the Parliamentary process.

"When they were in Opposition, Labor Party Members including Wayne Swan, Julia Gillard and Bob McMullan all called for this change - and they were faced with Ministers and a Prime Minister who very rarely exceeded such a time limit. The Government should be supporting these reforms or else be guilty of rank hypocrisy."

Proposed reforms include:

• A limit of four minutes on answers to questions in Question Time;

• A thirty minute take-note session directly following Question Time allowing Government, Opposition and Independent Members to speak for five minutes each on the answers to questions from that day; and

• A special backbench question time allowing Members to question Ministers on matters concerning a Member's electorate, where the appropriate Minister would be provided with questions in advance to allow a more detailed and relevant response, and a supplementary question without notice might be asked at the Speaker's discretion.

"One reform urgently required is the renewed commitment of the House to the significance of Matters of Public Importance, which allows Private Members to speak on significant issues,"" said Mr Pyne. ""The Coalition proposes the Matters of Public Importance should directly follow Question Time ensuring these issues receive the attention they warrant - at the moment we are all too often subjected to lengthy and waffling Ministerial Statements as the Government pushes MPI debates out past media deadlines - thus ensuring that Matters of Public Importance have little opportunity to be reported on by the press.

"The Rudd Opposition claimed to be committed to 'transparency and accountability'. Ever since Bill Hayden the Labor Party has claimed to be committed to reforming Question Time, including the limiting of the length of answers to questions.

"In Government the Rudd Government have frustrated Question Time reform and have made no attempt to limit length of answers or stay relevant to the questions.

""The Australian Parliament should be a place where all Members can be heard. It is time for the Government to work together with the Opposition in a bipartisan fashion to make the Parliament relevant again.""

October 12, 2009

Media contact: Adam Howard 0400 414 833