Woods Megan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWoods Megan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 27 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11371. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram)to theChairperson of the Education and Science Committee: Was he contacted by the Minister of Education her staff or her officials following her appearance at the hearing of evidence on the 2013/14 Estimates Review for Vote Education yesterday concerning her readiness to return to the Committee at a later date to answer questions around the responses to 2013/14 Estimates Review for Vote Education questions received by the Committee; if so what was the nature of any discussion?Dr CAM CALDER (Chairperson of the Education and Science Committee):I had contact with both the Minister of Education and her office yesterday afternoon. As part of that I advised them that the committee had resolved not to request her to return to the committee at a later date. I did not have any contact with either her or her office prior to the committee making its decision.Dr Megan Woods: Is he aware of whether the Minister her staff or her officials contacted her Government colleagues on the committee to get them to vote down any motion that would see her being recalled to face questions?Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is so much noise that I could not hear the question.Dr Megan Woods: OK. Is he aware of whether the Minister her staff or her officials contacted her Government colleagues on the committee to get them to vote down any motion that would see her being recalled to face questions?Mr SPEAKER: No—the purpose of these questions is to ask the member as a chairperson and it must be linked to his responsibility. I do not accept that that question is.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Are you ruling out the possibility that the chairman might have been officially advised of that?Mr SPEAKER: I am ruling that the question was not satisfactorily addressed to the member—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why not?Mr SPEAKER: Order! When I am giving a ruling I do not expect interjections from the Rt Hon Winston Peters. The rules are very tight with the supplementary question. I have listened to it. I have ruled that it is not in order so that is the end of the matter. The member can disagree with that but I am not reconsidering it. I am inviting the member now to ask question No.—Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just want to understand the ruling because I might have a major misunderstanding here. I think you have ruledout the possibility of a chairman of a committee being briefed on that matter. I just do not think that you can. He might have been briefed; you do not know. [Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The difficulty I have is in listening to the question because even though it was repeated for a second time the level of noise and interjection was still substantial. For the benefit of the member I am going to ask her to repeat it and then I will make a ruling which will be a final ruling.Dr Megan Woods: Is he aware of whether the Minister her staff or her officials contacted her Government colleagues on the committee to get them to vote down any motion that would see her being recalled to face questions?Mr SPEAKER: Order! That question is not in order. The member is not responsible for the actions of the Minister or the Minister’s staff.