Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

On the point of order, it is essential for the minister to be able to contest or question the validity, the elements or otherwise, of a question in their response to that question. A question cannot simply be presented in a manner that expects a black or white response. That is why we have a period of time for ministers to respond in question time. Mr President, your approach has been a consistent one: that the narrower the question, the narrower the scope for the response. But, where a question relates to a particular payment, then there has to be an opportunity for a minister to reflect on all of the elements of that payment, not just respond to the narrow proposition that the opposition may want.