factsheet 3.15 adayinparliament

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Factsheet

3.15

Legislative Assembly Chamber

A Day in ParliamentThe chamber of the Queensland

parliament is called the Legislative

Assembly of Queensland. The Queensland

parliament usually sits for three days each

sitting week - Tuesdays, Wednesdays andThursdays - with the dates of each sitting

week determined by the government at

the start of each calendar year or after

an election. On average, the Queensland

parliament meets for approximately 15

sitting weeks per year.

The Queensland parliament operates

according to a set of rules known as the

Standing Rules and Orders. Amongst other

things, the standing orders dictate what

occurs in the chamber each day and howmembers are to behave.

The parliament meets from 9:30 am

until adjournment each sitting Tuesday

and Thursday and from 2 pm to until

adjournment on each sitting Wednesday.

Committee meetings and hearings are

held prior to parliament sitting on

Wednesdays. The adjournment time can

be extended through the night if the

government decides that the business of

the parliament needs to continue.

The start of a sitting day

At the start of each sitting day, bells

ring throughout the building to call

the 89 members of parliament to the

chamber. When the bells stop, the

Speaker of the House is announced by

the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Speaker

then opens proceedings with a prayer and

acknowledges the traditional owners of the

land upon which parliament is assembled

and the custodians of the sacred lands of

Queensland.

The business of the chamber then begins

according to the program for each day.

Some items which occur at the start of each

day include: Speaker’s Statements; Petitions;

Ministerial Papers; Ministerial Statements and

Personal Explanations. An hour is allocated for this

preliminary business.

Question Time

Question time is scheduled to commence at 10.30

am on Tuesdays and Thurdays and at 3 pm on

Wednesdays. This is when the parliament becomes

a forum for the opposition and Independent

members in particular to extract information and

to question and scrutinise the policies and actions

of the government. The rst two questions are

asked by the Leader of the Opposition followed

by questions alternating between government andnon-government members.


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Updated July 2015

Factsheet

3.15A Day in Parliament

Questions are generally about current

government policies or programs. The

standing orders dictate what the sort of

questions which can be asked and how thePremier or Ministers can answer them. The

member has one minute in which to ask

their question and the Premier or Minister

has three minutes to answer it.

Question time lasts for one hour and is

usually lively and intense. For this reason

the media usually focus their attention on

this one section of parliamentary business

each day.

Matters of Public InterestOn Tuesdays, the parliamentary schedule

also includes ‘Matters of Public Interest’

for one hour. During this time, members

may talk about a matter of interest

to them or their electorate. The rst

speaker, which is usually the Leader of the

Opposition or another opposition member,

has 10 minutes to speak, and each speaker

after that has ve minutes.

Government BusinessThe majority of the parliament’s sitting

time is allocated to ‘Government

Business’. This is when members in

the chamber debate bills which the

government wishes the parliament to

pass so they can make or amend laws in

Queensland.

Debate on government business

commences after the ‘Matters of Public

Interest’ debate on a Tuesday, afterquestion time on a Wednesday and after

the debate of committee reports on a

Thursday.

Private Member’s Motions

At 6 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the

parliament considers what is known as a

‘Private Members’ Motion’. This is a topic

proposed by a non-government member

with the rst speaker given 10 minutes and

each speaker after that given ve minutes.The debate continues for 30 minutes.

Some examples of recent motions include

the changed shing zones in Moreton

Bay, the cost of electricity and the government’s

handling of health issues in Queensland.

Private Members’ StatementsOn Thursdays, from 2:30 to 3 pm, the Parliament

hears ‘Private Members’ Statements’. This allows

10 members to speak on a topic of interest to them

for three minutes each.

Non-Government Business

Private members’ bills may be debated after the

dinner break on a Wednesday. Any member may

introduce a bill as a private member. The House

may continue to debate bills on each following

Wednesday evening, from 7:30 pm to 10 pm, untilconsideration of that bill has been nalised.

Adjournment Debate

The adjournment debate occurs at the end of

each sitting day and lasts for 30 minutes. It gives

members the opportunity to speak for three

minutes on almost any matter. Unlike most other

times in parliament, there are no limits to the

subject that a member may raise, although most

tend to speak about their electorate or their

constituents.

Divisions in the Chamber

Matters before the Legislative Assembly are decided

on by the vote of members who are present in

the chamber. When a question is put, the Speaker

usually says, “All in favour of the question say

‘Aye’, and those against say ‘No’.” Members

respond accordingly and the Speaker determines

which way the vote has gone by the number of

voices heard.

At this point, any member may call “Divide”,

and a formal count of members for and against

the matter before the House then occurs. When

a division is called for, the Speaker asks for the

division bells to be rung in order to alert members

who are not in the chamber that a vote is about to

occur.

The division bells then ring throughout the

parliamentary complex for four minutes unless it is

otherwise determined that they ring for one minute

when a succession of votes are about to occur. Afterthe bells have rung, the doors of the chamber are

closed and the formal count of members begins. At


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Factsheet

3.15A Day in Parliament

the end of each division, the ofcial result

is declared by the Speaker and recorded in

the Record of Proceedings.

Record of Proceedings

All of the debates which occur in

Parliament are recorded in writing and

published in the Record of Proceedings

(traditionally referred to as Hansard). This

is the ofcial report of the debates and

proceedings of the parliament.

Hansard is published on the parliament’s

website at the end of each sitting

day along with a video of each day’s

proceedings.

Parliamentary Committees

A parliamentary committee is a body

established by legislation or by the

parliament to inquire into specic matters.

It is made up of a group of members,

both government and non-government.

Committees generally have signicant

powers to inquire into matters for the

parliament and often seek information and

views from people and organisations.

The main task of committees in

Queensland is to ensure government

administration is accountable to

the parliament and to the people of

Queensland.

Committees are able to do this in a

way that the whole parliament cannot.

They have more time, are more exible,

and can gather evidence by speaking to

people and organisations in communitiesthroughout the state.

Committees carry out the responsibilities

assigned to them by legislation or the

parliament. They consider and report

on bills introduced into the parliament

and subordinate legislation, consider the

annual appropriation bills (the estimates

process), investigate issues of public

importance, consider whether policies

or past decisions could be improved

and make sure that public money is

used appropriately. They also meet with

public ofce holders who report to the

parliament, such as the Ombudsman. Committees

also conduct inquiries to examine matters in detail.

After the committees have held their hearings,

committee members sort through the evidence

and reach a conclusion which they present to the

parliament in the form of a report.

The Speaker’s Chair in the Legislative Assembly Chamber

factsheet 3.15 adayinparliament

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