Headlines:
| Parliamentary speeches to be cut short |
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| Tuesday, 22 January 2008 | |
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Speakers at future Parliamentary sittings will soon be
forced to cut long speeches to the bare minimum. Members of the Standing Orders Committee met Tuesday morning to review the rules that govern these sittings. The item which had members fussing was the length of time each member is allowed to speak at a sitting of Parliament. They jokingly pointed to times when some Parliamentarians simply walked out when an address seemed unending and unbearable. For over an hour members debated on how best to allow for more orderly sittings. Opposition member of the Committee Michael Peart suggested a review of the Standing Orders of other countries. A final decision was made to allow Ministerial statements a maximum of ten minutes which would accommodate more speakers per sitting. While responses from the Opposition will be limited to five minutes. On matters of adjournment members will be given 2-3 minutes. The committee also adjusted the notice period for the Prime Minister to address matters put to him. The outcome is that the Prime Minister has no more than seven days within which to answer questions raised with him in Parliament. He has been given the flexibility to address such matters at any time during that period. |