Question Time answers become optional

Parliament is discovering how the Speaker will interpret its rules. Today's contention was can he force good answers from ministers, or indeed, any answers.

Each new Parliament goes through a birthing process where it finds its own shape and mood. They all tend to end up a little different, or a lot different. A crucial determinant of that shape is how the new speaker will interpret the Parliament's rules.

New parliaments don't create new rules. The Standing Orders (rules) are already agreed. But interpretations of those rules can shift. Alongside the rules are Speaker's Rulings, the accreted rule interpretations of many successive speakers.

Like in scriptures, you can often find a Speaker's Ruling to support widely varying interpretations of a rule's intent.

With each new parliament and speaker, those interpretations tend to shift again. The early Question Times are often long and combative as the new approach is slowly enunciated, and as MPs work to nudge that interpretation in a direction useful to their own team.

On Tuesday the new Speaker's approach began to take shape. For example, Gerry Brownlee ruled like this in Question 5:

1 - Any answer is an answer: Ruling as haiku

Grant Robertson: "Point of order, Mr Speaker. I don't believe that question was addressed in that answer. I asked her whether she was ruling it out or not."

Speaker Brownlee: "Well, that's often the case. The question is asked; an answer is given; the question is addressed."

Grant Robertson: "That's very philosophical, Mr Speaker."

Very philosophical, and very nearly a haiku from the new Speaker Gerry Brownlee. The gist appears to be that any answer from a minister is considered to have addressed the question. For years the necessary requirement has been that a question should be, if not answered, at least 'addressed'. Possibly the definition of addressed has shifted?

2 - 'Rhubarb, rhubarb... job done'

This interchange from Question 9 seemed to confirm that.

Speaker Brownlee: "...Now, what I do is irrelevant here. What he says is what the House gets as an answer in addressing a question..."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details