Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

Order! First of all, I have to state the obvious: there is no point of order because there is no standing order about the length of answers. There is, I think, an illustration in the point being made by the member for Sturt of the difficulty here, and I of course stand by the comments that I made earlier in my tenure as the Speaker. This is like occasions when I was on the opposition benches and listened to ministers making lengthy answers which I thought had to be made that length because they were providing information to the chamber. It is also in the context that—and if people want to trawl through comments I have made before, they will see that I have also championed ministerial statements—the device of ministerial statements is being used more. I think on this occasion it does not really illustrate the point I have been trying to make about the length of answers to questions.

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