Speaker’s Rulings — Questions for Oral Answer—Ministers' Answers

Before I start on questions I want to refer to two matters that I said I would rule on this week. Last week the Hon Peter Dunne asked me to reflect on points of order inviting the Speaker to rule on whether Ministers have answered questions. I have given a number of rulings on that subject during my term in office, including detailed rulings on 12 September 2001 and 1 May 2003. Summaries of those rulings are contained in the latest edition of Speakers’ Rulings. I do not intend to go over them in detail today. I merely wish to emphasise that the Speaker is not the judge of whether a Minister answers a question correctly or adequately. That is a matter for political debate and criticism.

I reiterate what I said on 12 September 2001 in Hansard, Vol. 595, at page 11634: “Any answer given by a Minister must address the question asked. That means that the answer must be a direct response to the question; it cannot be on an unrelated matter that it suits the Minister to introduce. But it does not mean that the answer will be satisfactory to the questioner, or that it will actually answer the question. Whether it does or not will always be a matter of opinion, and the Speaker cannot force a Minister to give a reply that is satisfactory to everyone.”

Māori Language—Interpretation