Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I will rule on this now, and try and rule more clearly, perhaps. If it involves a minister's responsibilities—and clearly it's a program with taxpayers' funds, so it does involve the minister's responsibility—the question can be asked. Without denigrating the question, it can be entirely unreasonable for a minister to carry that knowledge. But, since I have been pushed on it, that is why we have questions without notice that can be answered on the spot or can be taken on notice. It was a very common practice 40 or 50 years ago. It's less common today. Otherwise, you wouldn't have that capacity, and whole swathes of questions would be ruled out of order. So the question is in order. I was worried about another aspect of it, which is the Queensland election having nothing to do with us, but I think there is that linkage there with taxpayers' money and that the question's in order.

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