Stop waffling – politician wants members to give straight answers

Monday 10 April 2017

A Jersey politician wants States rules enforced to stop members avoiding answering questions adequately.

Deputy Geoff Southern believes there’s been an increase in what he calls ‘diversionary non-answering’ – put another way: politicians not answering the questions they’ve been asked.

He wants to put a stop to it, and has lodged a proposition in which he says members should be forced to give answers during Question Time that are ‘confined to the subject matter of the question’ – in other words not rattle on about something that’s irrelevant.

Deputy Southern says similar rules are enforced in New Zealand and believes the States should follow their example.

And to make sure members stay on task Deputy Southern says the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff – who are responsible for running States sittings – need to take a much more active role.

Perhaps rather rhetorically, or maybe even tongue in check, Deputy Southern notes: “we are unique in the world, at present, in being able to call on the services of two highly trained and experienced lawyers to judge the answers put forward. Who is better placed to spot evasive or irrelevant answers, and to distinguish those from responses over which there are merely political differences?”

States members will now have to vote on the amendment.