Question Time for Guyra Central School senior students

It was like Question Time in Parliament this week as Year 5/6 students at Guyra Central School put Member for Northern Tablelands and Speaker of the NSW Parliament, Richard Torbay, through his paces.
After the MP outlined some background on government and parliamentary procedures, hands shot up to ask questions.
Many were intrigued with the Speaker’s ability to suspend his fellow MPs, to use the mute button and to control unruly debates on the floor of the House.
Others wanted to know about what happened in a hung parliament, how the Speaker could remember the names of all the MPs in the chamber and what type of debates were the most difficult to manage.
“It was a very lively session,” Mr Torbay said.
“I always enjoy interaction with students and am impressed with the questions they ask and their interest in how government works.
“Of course the concept that MPs can behave so badly they are suspended from Parliament is a great source of interest and it takes many questions to satisfy their curiosity.
“The more young people learn about parliament, the more likely they are to engage in public life later on and to understand the leadership roles they can take in their own communities.
“From the calibre of questions I fielded at Guyra and the interest students showed in the government of their stateI think we can feel very confident about the future of our democracy .”