Points of Order — Question No. 5 to Minister, 16 March—Minister’s Replies

I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. This is a new matter. I am sorry, but this will undoubtedly save time at question time. I want to raise with you something that happened at question time yesterday and a difficulty we on this side of the House have at question time. I want to take the House back to a supplementary question Heather Roy asked the Minister of Health yesterday. She asked—and I have the Hansard—“How many patients will die of the flu this winter because of this dodgy vaccine?”. It was very clear to the House that she asked how many would die of the flu. The Minister answered that no patients would die because of this dodgy vaccine. Then I asked whether the Minister would stand by that statement.

The Minister then said, with regard to me rewriting the question, that she had said it was not a dodgy vaccine. The Minister had actually said that it was. There was a series of points of order, then the Leader of the House, Michael Cullen, stood up and suggested that we were somehow trying to rewrite Heather Roy’s question, when the question was entirely about people dying of the flu. That meant we had to use another two questions.

On the third question that the ACT party asked, I asked: “How many people will die of the flu this winter because this vaccine does not vaccinate them against all three strains as promised?”. I am sure the House can appreciate that that was the same question. The Minister replied: “I do not have that information”. That meant that she did not know. My point is that that is what takes up a lot of time at question time and a great many points of order. The Minister could have said on the very first question that she did not have the information. It was not helpful that the Leader of the House tried to reinterpret the question. I ask you not to let the Government get away with trying to reinterpret Opposition questions, or forcing Opposition parties that have very little chance to question the Government to burn up their questions as they try to seek clarification.

💬 Madam SPEAKER: The member is effectively debating the Minister’s answers yesterday. It is not a matter that the Speaker can resolve. There are occasions available to do that like the general debate, where that matter could be raised.