Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I have been very generous in the questions that I have allowed. That has been quite deliberate, because, as I said when I became Speaker, I want to see free-flowing debate, and that flows both ways. It is important that questions draw a connection. I have pointed that out. This question is stretching it further than other questions. The last point that the member for Watson made, I think, is a valid one. To me, that is the only part of the question that is in order. So I foreshadow now that, certainly, questions can be asked about previous answers, but that does not open up the possibility for the member for Isaacs or, for that matter, anyone else to simply refer to previous answers and then ask a question about a different event or subject. I will allow the minister, if he wishes, to answer just that last part of the question, which was about his ministerial responsibilities, if he can recall it.

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