Hipkins Chris; Brownlee GerryPoint of Order—Number of Questions LodgedHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I note that today as with the two days that the Parliament sat last week there are fewer than 12 primary questions on the question sheet. You may be aware that the Government has been publicly criticised for not being subject to sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. I wonder if you could confirm for me that you have not ruled out any primary questions that have been lodged by the Opposition.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National): I can understand the Leader of the House's being a little perplexed by the fact that the Opposition have lodged less than the number of questions that they could in a primary sense—SPEAKER: Fewer.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Fewer—fewer. Thank you Mr Speaker. That's very good of you. That's why our questions are always so beautifully presented due to your overview and advice. But what needs to be understood is that while—SPEAKER: The member's risking misleading the House if he continues down that road.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: That would take a certain amount of self-admission Mr Speaker which I'm relying won't be coming forth. Might I just get back on the point here: we have lodged less than the number of questions that we could lodge only by about one. [Interruption] OK. Would you like to say it for me Mr Speaker? Would that make you feel better?SPEAKER: Do you want me to deal with—Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No I just want to make the point—SPEAKER: We're getting to it.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I want to make the point that we are limited by the number of supplementary questions that we're able to ask and that by asking one less—Hon Members: Fewer!SPEAKER: No one less is right; it's a number.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: —primary question we have more supplementaries available to us and the questions that we have asked have been constructed in a way that they would require a larger number of supplementaries to extract some kind of answer out of the Government.Hon Chris Hipkins: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: I feel like the original point of order was not a point of order at all and I don't want to test my patience any further with additional comments—Hon Member: Is he meant to sit down?SPEAKER: —yes that's exactly right; the member will sit down—that stretch my patience further than he has already stretched it with the aid of the shadow Leader of the House.David Seymour: Point of order.SPEAKER: No I'm going to deal with this one first.David Seymour: Oh well speaking to it.SPEAKER: No you can't because I'm going to deal with it. The answer is that the number of questions that are submitted by the Opposition is a matter for them and details of what happens in my office with regard to ruling them out is not something for traversing here. That concludes oral questions—DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: I'm finding it very hard to work out what point of order is available to the member now. It's only because I was slack with the Leader of the House that I'll let the member raise one.DAVID SEYMOUR: I seek leave in the spirit of helpfulness for ACT to be granted an additional primary question and five supplementaries tomorrow to make up the shortfall the Leader of the House complained about.SPEAKER: Order! Order! I'm taking that as facetious. The member has been getting plenty of extra questions including today from his friend Jami-Lee Ross. In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow. The House adjourned at 3.07 p.m.