Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

On 7 February I informed the House of my desire to make question time more spontaneous by allowing as many as five supplementary questions each day. In setting out the details of my proposal I said the new arrangements would be reviewed at the end of these sittings.

I wish to thank honourable members for their cooperation in the trial of the new arrangements. The ability to ask supplementary questions has introduced a welcome new dynamic into question time. My preliminary conclusion is that the trial has been a success. Nevertheless, before making arrangements for the remainder of the year, I would welcome any comments or suggestions that honourable members may have.

I am considering expanding the number of supplementary questions and also allowing one side to ask supplementary questions to an original question asked by the other side. Honourable members are welcome to contact me in person, by telephone or email. I would very much like to receive any comments by 27 April this year.

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