Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under standing order 105(b), which refers to replies that have not been received within 60 days after a question has first appeared on the Notice Paper, could I ask you to write to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, about question in writing No. 852, seeking a reason for the delay. It has now been 76 days since the question was lodged.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If question No. 852 has not been answered, I will take the action required of me under the standing orders. I would just indicate to members that I will, where I can remember the numbers, be doing so in that manner. I know that the member for Boothby is in the chamber and I do not think he, in any way, did it deliberately when he raised some of the questions, but some of the answers were—as they say in the classics—in the post and I only ended up having to write on three of the questions that he raised with me. I think he raised with me six or seven questions. I am not in any way indicating that the member for Boothby did so deliberately but for the correctness of the record what I will indicate is that I will check whether that question has been answered or not. If it has not, I will take action.

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Training and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, as I was mentioned in passing, I just wanted to make very clear that I based my question to you last week on the information in the Notice Paper and that we had not received those replies from the minister at the time that I asked you that question.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was certainly not in any way accusing the member for Boothby of doing anything untoward. I was just indicating that in the end there were only three that were outstanding. If there is further need for me to investigate whether they are in the pipeline, I will do so.