For an opposition party in Parliament, Question Time is one of its prime opportunities to regularly grill the government in public.
For anyone following multiple Question Times, various patterns emerge whereby certain MPs ask certain ministers questions sometimes repeatedly, sometimes spontaneously, and sometimes over a period of weeks whereby an issue is fleshed out gradually.
The House had a chat with the Shadow Leader of the House, Michael Woodhouse, on how the questions are allocated and who gets to ask them, at least from the National Party’s point of view.
National MP Michael Woodhouse Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
Of the twelve questions allowed at each Question Time, each party is allocated a set number of those questions according to the proportion of non-executive MPs they have.
“For us that’s meant that every day we have about 4 or 5 primary questions. And then there is a set number of supplementary questions that we can use at our discretion, on either those questions or any of another party’s questions,” Woodhouse explained.
“So we would have about 22 or 23 questions each day, supplementary to the main questions that we ask.”
Pecking order
In each party the questions are allocated broadly in relation to pecking order.
“So the leader (of the Opposition) would possibly have 7 or 8 supplementary questions to follow his question to the prime minister which is a set piece every day.
“Nearly every day the finance spokesmen will ask [questions of] the Minister of Finance. So that leaves a relatively small number of questions - only 2 or 3 each day - for other spokespeople to examine the issues that go on in their areas.”
Of course, the way supplementary questions are used is fluid. Sometimes, for instance, the opposition leader may use one or two more than anticipated, which of course impacts the number of questions for fellow party members who make subsequent primary questions in Question Time on that particular day.
“But if you’ve got the prime minister on his feet and under pressure on a certain issue, then you wouldn’t want to constrain the leader of the opposition from continuing to examine that issue,” Woodhouse explained.
Whip it
The party whips, who typically sit behind the leader in the chamber, keep a tally of the number of questions to make sure the subsequent questioners know how many they have to work with.
“The Whip is diligent in doing the maths every Question Time, and you’ll see a little bit of activity behind his chair where he or the Junior Whip may need to go and have a chat with a future questioner and say that their allocation has gone, either up or down.”
Another factor to consider is that the Speaker can, and fairly often does, award extra supplementary questions if in their estimation the minister fielding the question hasn’t answered adequately.
The National Party Whips Chris Penk and Maureen Pugh organise Question Time Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
As far as determining which questions get asked by their party, senior National MPs have daily and weekly processes whereby they call for issues that could be prosecuted through Question Time; collate and examine these; and then on the morning of each sitting day caucus MPs and their staff meet to pinpoint which questions should be asked in the chamber and by whom.
Long game
“Generally it’s pretty tactical rather than strategic,” the Shadow Leader of the House said of how the party determines what to ask the government.
So while there’s plenty of questions that get asked by opposition MPs which are responding to something pertinent mainly on that day only, other lines of questioning can play out over weeks and months.
“And we’re seeing this for example in the law & order and education space, where we’re actually drawing out an issue over a period of time, and therefore some priority might be given to a particular theme, and that is the more strategic issues rather than the daily tactics.
“For those who are regular watchers of Question Time, often they may forget what the question was or what the issue was even. But it leaves them with the impression of confidence or otherwise in the ability of the minister to be on top of his or her portfolio. And that’s really the role of the opposition - to put pressure onto the government to explain what they’re doing and not doing, and Question Time is an important set piece for that.”
