Upper House crossbenchers welcome extra question time
Independents and minor parties in the Upper House say the allocation of an extra question will allow them to hold the government to account and replaces the “assumption of a two party parliament”.
Legislative Council President Terry Stephens announced the amendment when the Upper House sat on Tuesday, allocating an extra question to the crossbench during Question Time.
The change comes after all members of the Upper House crossbench sent a letter, seen by InDaily, to Stephens on January 21 following the resignation of Jing Lee from the South Australian Liberal Party.
The letter was signed by Robert Simms and Tammy Franks from the SA Greens, SA-BEST’s Connie Bonaros, One Nation’s Sarah Game and independents Frank Pangallo and Jing Lee.
“We write regarding the changed composition of the Upper House for 2025 and the implications of this for parliamentary Question Time,” the letter said.
“Following the decision of the Honourable Jing Lee MLC to sit on the crossbench, for the first time in modern South Australian political history, there will be the same number of crossbench members as Liberal members on the floor of the Council.
“In light of this, we request that you review Question Time arrangements to ensure that these reflect the current composition of the parliament and consider allocating additional questions to the crossbench.”
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Stephens responded to the letter during Tuesday’s Upper House sitting, announcing what he said was a “minor tweak” of question time order.
“Before we move on to questions without notice, members may recall that in January the Hon. Robert Simms raised the issue of chamber numbers, questions, question allocation, and appropriate fairness, along with the support of members of the crossbench,” said Stephens.
“I have given due consideration to the Hon. Mr Simms’ and the crossbenchers’ request and have determined to implement a minor tweak to the question time order.
“What it will be is: three questions from the opposition, one from the government, two from the crossbench, which is the change, and then back to one opposition, one government, one crossbench and so on. I will monitor the effectiveness of the change and adjust, if necessary, to ensure fairness to all members.”
Simms told InDaily he was pleased the President took action on the letter.
“The Greens welcome this increased opportunity to take the Government to task on cost of living, housing and the climate crisis,” Simms said.
Franks said that with an even number of crossbenchers and Opposition members in the Upper House, “it is only fair and reasonable to allocate the number of possible questions accordingly”.
“The conversations have been based on an assumption of a two party parliament for too long,” she said.
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SA-BEST’s Connie Bonaros said the amendment was a positive development but that it “could and should have gone further”.
“The numbers are what the numbers are,” she said.
One Nation’s Sarah Game said she also supported the change.
“Having missed out on my question on multiple occasions in the past, due to ridiculous back-and-forth time wasting by the major parties, I am incredibly pleased the crossbench will be allocated more time due to the dwindling number of Liberals in the Upper House,” said Game.
Pangallo told InDaily he also welcomed the change.
“I fully support Robert Simms’ request as it makes Question Time fair and equitable given the recent change to the political landscape,” he said.
Jing Lee said the President “made a fair assessment about the request jointly signed by the six crossbench members”.
“Question Time is an important opportunity for us to hold the Government to account and highlight the issues that are important to South Australians. I think the President made the right call,” she said.
Nicola Centofanti, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, said she supported scrutiny of the Malinauskas government from the crossbench.
“We are dedicated to holding this government to account and I’m pleased that we will continue to lead the legislative council in question time,” she told InDaily.
“Our crossbench colleagues are also vital in ensuring the Malinauskas government acts in the best interests of the South Australian people.”
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Kyam Maher, who is leader of the government in the legislative council, said it was a matter for President Stephens and directed any questions to him.
