Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the point of order, the previous government changed the practice—certainly in the last two or three years, and a number of members on this side experienced this—so that a speech and a question was asked from the opposition side and answered by the relevant minister, to be followed by a speech and a question on the government's side. That was established in a number of these committees in the last couple of years. It might not have been the practice of the former minister, who is now on his feet, but I can assure him that his colleagues—particularly in the Treasury portfolio—adopted that practice and established that convention.

See this speech in context