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Chapter 6 - Senators
Questions to senators
Questions may be put to senators at
question time relating to matters connected with business on the Notice Paper
of which they have charge (SO 72(1)). Question
time, however, is mainly used to put questions to ministers (see Chapter 19,
Relations with the Executive Government), and the procedure of putting
questions to other senators is seldom used.
Because a question
and answer may not anticipate debate on a matter on the Notice Paper (SO 73(2)), a question
to a senator is in effect confined to procedural matters not going to the
merits of the relevant item on the Notice Paper. Such a question may, for
example, relate to a senator’s intention to bring on an item of business, or
the effect of certain circumstances on the currency or urgency of the item.
(Rulings of Deputy President McClelland, SD, 26/5/1982, p. 2374; President
McClelland, 24/10/1984, pp 2323, 2327; President Sibraa, 20/8/1992, p. 346;
President Beahan, 6/12/1994, pp 3944-8, 7/12/1994, pp 4098-9; see also SD,
11/9/1969, pp 700-1; 16/4/1970, p. 856; 27/8/1981, p. 379.)
Questions may also
be put to chairs of committees, subject to certain restrictions (see Chapter
16, Committees). (See Supplement)
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