Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Hansard source

Could I make a brief statement about issues raised in question time yesterday. I reviewed the Hansard. I said I would come back to the chamber. The first matter was about the direct relevance of a question from Senator McAllister to Senator Cormann. In short I have reviewed the Hansard,and part of the question did ask about the government's position. I believe the minister was being directly relevant to the question with the material he outlined in his answer.

The second issue was raised during question time and then at the end of question time by Senator Watt. It referred to claims made by a number of senators about comments made that may have been unparliamentary. I have reviewed the Hansard and consulted with the Clerk. I do not find anything in the Hansard that is an unparliamentary reflection or an unparliamentary imputation. There are highly contestable matters recorded in the Hansard. Obviously the Hansard does not necessarily record everything said in the chamber. I would ask senators to be mindful of standing orders when matters are, in a disorderly way, interjected across the chamber.