Editing Question time (section)

===Australia===
[[File:Snapshots- Question Time updated January 2018.webm|thumb|right|"Question Time" by the [[Parliament of Australia|Parliamentary]] Education Office]]
Question time, formally known as ''questions without notice'', is an institution in the [[Parliament of Australia|Commonwealth Parliament]] and in all state parliaments. Questions to government ministers normally alternate between government members and the opposition, with the opposition going first. Questions of ministers are generally asked by their counterpart [[shadow minister]]s (or in the case of a minister and corresponding shadow minister are each members of a different House of Parliament, then the shadow minister's representative in the other House asked questions to the relevant minister) in the opposition, and are always asked by [[backbencher]]s on the government side. In the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], the first question is usually asked of the prime minister by the Leader of the Opposition. Similar arrangements apply in the Senate.<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/proc_ctte/reports/2008/index.htm "First report of 2008 Restructuring question time; Reference of bills to committees; Questions to chairs of committees; Deputy chairs of committees and Leave to make statements"]{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 16 September 2008. © Commonwealth of Australia 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-642-71982-9}}</ref> To accommodate the distribution of ministers between both chambers, ministers also take on representative roles, answering questions relating to portfolios that are not their own because the responsible minister sits in the other chamber. This allows questioners to ask questions about any government portfolio in either chamber. This normally includes the Leader of the Government in the Senate representing the prime minister in response to questions asked by senators about general government policy. Sometimes a government Minister will arrange for a government [[backbencher]] to "ask" a question, commonly called a [[Dorothy Dixer]], to enable the Minister to make a political speech or otherwise score political points.<ref name=Parliamentary-glossary>{{Cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Parliamentary glossary | title = Dorothy Dix question or Dorothy Dixer | url = http://www.peo.gov.au/students/gloss_cd.html#D | publisher = Parliamentary Education Office (Commonwealth Parliament of Australia) | access-date = 22 August 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130517004818/http://www.peo.gov.au/students/gloss_cd.html#D | archive-date = 17 May 2013 }}</ref>

Convention allows the prime minister in the House, and the Leader of the Government in the Senate, to terminate question time by asking that "further questions be placed on the [[Notice Paper]]". This is not a formal motion but an indication that, even if further questions were asked, ministers would not answer them since they are not compelled to do so. It is possible in this way to prematurely terminate question time, although this is rare in the House and essentially unheard of in the Senate. During the [[Paul Keating|Keating]] Government, the prime minister attempted to limit the number of questions asked in a way the Liberal Opposition disapproved of. To protest the change, the Opposition made random [[quorum]] calls through the afternoon for every question they felt they had been denied that day. In the House, question time is generally scheduled from 2pm to 3:15 pm on every sitting day; in the Senate, it generally occurs from 2pm to 3pm. Apart from divisions, it is the only time the chamber is likely to be filled.

Tactically, it is considered an important defining characteristic for an Opposition Leader to be able ask a pertinent question of the prime minister or premier, or to single out perceived weak performers in the Ministry.

Interjections from both government and opposition members in the House of Representatives and the Senate are common, and broadly speaking are an accepted practice, although the speaker of the House or the president of the Senate will intervene if interjections become too frequent, if they contain inappropriate content, or if the member interjecting is disrupting debate. Given that question time is the only time of day when all members of Parliament are in their respective chambers, the appearance of question time can be rowdy and boisterous compared to the normally sedate activity during the rest of the day.

In the past, questions and answers had no time limits. Following the [[2010 Australian federal election|2010 federal election]], changes to the standing orders imposed a 45-second<ref name=":0" /> time limit for questions and a four-minute time limit for answers in the House of Representatives. This was reduced to 30 seconds for questions and three minutes for answers when the standing orders were again amended following the [[2022 Australian federal election|2022 federal election]]. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=House of Representatives Standing and Sessional Orders |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/House_of_Representatives_Standing_Orders |access-date=20 December 2018 |website=www.aph.gov.au |language=en-AU}}</ref> In the Senate, a questioner may ask an initial question and two supplementary questions related to their initial question. Each question has a one-minute time limit. Answers to initial questions are limited to three minutes, and answers to supplementary questions are limited to one minute. A senator may also move to 'take note' of a minister's answer after question time, allowing questioners (generally Opposition senators) to respond to the answers provided by ministers.

It is very common for [[points of order]] to be raised during question time on the issue of relevance, as a Minister answering questions will normally attempt to redirect the answer to an attack on their opponents. However, as long as the Minister is talking on the general subject of the matter raised in the question, it is usually considered relevant to the question, even if it does not address the specific issue raised in the question at all.

State parliaments adopt similar practices to the federal Parliament with the exception of the [[Parliament of Victoria]], where, since 2015, government backbenchers are no longer entitled to ask questions during question time. As a replacement, ministers can make two-minute ministerial statements to the chamber (see [[Dorothy Dixer]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=How sitting days work |url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/how-parliament-works/how-sitting-days-work/ |website=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=7 May 2024 |location=Melbourne |quote=''Who can ask questions?'' […] Under the current sessional orders, government members cannot ask questions without notice. Such questions had been criticised in the past because ministers often knew about the question in advance and gave prepared answers. These type of questions are known as ‘Dorothy Dixers’. They are named after an American advice columnist who often wrote the questions she answered. Ministers’ statements allow government members to speak about their current activities without using Dorothy Dixer questions.}}</ref>

Question time has been broadcast on [[History of ABC Radio (Australia)|ABC Radio]] since 1946<ref name=parl75>{{cite web | last=Doran | first=Matthew | title=ABC celebrates 75 years of parliamentary broadcasting| website=ABC News| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=10 July 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-10/abc-celebrates-75th-anniversary-of-parliamentary-broadcasting/100278798 | access-date=3 August 2021}}</ref> and televised since 1991 by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].<ref>The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, "The Eyes Have It! Inquiry into the Televising of the House of Representatives and its Committees", Report of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Televising, August 1991.</ref>

There is a common misperception that question time is about asking questions to ministers as there are uncommon occurrences of questions being asked to members of Parliament who are not ministers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/00_-_Infosheets/Infosheet_1_-_Questions|title=Infosheet 1 – Questions|first=Canberra|last=corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House|website=www.aph.gov.au}}</ref>