Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I want to deal with this issue, as I suspected it would come up again today. My role is to interpret the standing orders as they are written. It's not to vouch for any accuracy or a yes/no answer about what is required or what would be desired. Standing order 104(a) is very clear:

An answer must be directly relevant to the question.

I repeat: it must be 'directly relevant to the question'. It does refer to 'a direct answer', as the Leader of the Opposition, I'm sure, would like, but says the answer must be 'directly relevant to the question'. The Prime Minister was asked about the decision and the time line. He is entitled to talk about the decision, but I will remind the Prime Minister to remain directly relevant to the question.

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