Which MP is Victoria's transport question king?

Which state politician asks the most questions about transport in parliament? 

Keep reading and you'll find out who is Victoria's transport question king. 

At their best, questions asked in parliament are meant to hold the government to account. 

At other times they may be theatre. They may be intended to embarrass more than seek elucidation if coming from the non-government side. Or if from the government side they may be sympathetic 'Dorothy Dixers' used to highlight some good news, announce some funding or parade some achievement.   

The Victorian Parliament website has a searchable questions section. There you can see how many questions each MP has asked on which portfolios. 

I decided to do this exercise for the 60th parliament - that is the time from after the 2022 state election to now (4 June 2025 when this data was collected). I counted only questions asked for the transport portfolio (1988 in total). That needed six boxes ticked due to machinery of government changes introduced part way through the term. 

Counting questions asked in parliament is just one measure of how active MPs are and/or their interest in transport matters. Note the emphasis. Different MPs have different representation styles. Some, especially on the government side, prefer to press their area's needs through personal meetings with the minister. There may also be liaison at electorate officer/ministerial adviser levels to refine proposals. 

Much of a diligent MP's time is away from parliament, often in their electorate, showing up to things and talking to constituents. An MP that only asks a few questions is not necessarily lazy; indeed some work hard and can claim significant wins for their seat through more effective means. Indolent or self-serving MPs do exist but it is unfair to use questions asked as a sole gauge of this. 

Having got these caveats out of the way, here are the lists of MPs by house in descending order of questions asked. As Question Time is supposed to be a means for the parliament to hold the executive to account, all those asking questions are non-ministers. Where MPs have left or been expelled from parties, I've listed the party they represented at the 2022 election first. Government and non-government parliamentarians are separated as their need and propensity to ask questions is different, especially in the Legislative Council. 

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Government

Will Fowles (ALP/Ind, MLA) 25

Sarah Connolly (ALP, MLA) 18

Luba Grigorovitch (ALP, MLA) 16

Kathleen Matthews-Ward (ALP, MLA) 16

Nathan Lambert (ALP, MLA) 14

Anthony Ciaflone (ALP, MLA) 13

Paul Hamer (ALP, MLA) 10

Juliana Addison (ALP, MLA) 10

Mathew Hilakari (ALP, MLA) 10

Jackson Taylor (ALP, MLA) 10

John Mullahy (ALP, MLA) 9

Iwan Walters (ALP, MLA) 9

Alison Marchant (ALP, MLA) 8

Dylan Wight (ALP, MLA) 7

Tim Richardson (ALP, MLA) 7

Kat Theophanous (ALP, MLA) 7

Martha Haylett (ALP, MLA) 7

Daniela De Martino (ALP, MLA) 7

Bronwyn Halfpenny (ALP, MLA) 6
Lauren Kathage (ALP, MLA) 6

Josh Bull (ALP, MLA) 5

Gary Maas (ALP, MLA) 5
Emma Vulin (ALP, MLA) 5

Paul Mercurio (ALP, MLA) 5

Jordan Crugnale (ALP, MLA) 5

Nina Taylor (ALP, MLA) 4
Matt Fregon (ALP, MLA) 4

Katie Hall (ALP, MLA) 4

Michaela Settle (ALP, MLA) 4

Ella George (ALP, MLA) 4

Meng Heang Tak (ALP, MLA) 3

John Lister (ALP, MLA)* 2

Eden Foster (ALP, MLA)* 1

Pauline Richards (ALP, MLA) 1
Steve McGhie (ALP, MLA) 1

Paul Edbrooke (ALP, MLA) 1

Darren Cheeseman (ALP/Ind, MLA) 1

Nick Staikos (ALP, MLA) 1

Vicki Ward (ALP, MLA) 0

Chris Couzens (ALP, MLA) 0

Non-Government

Annabelle Cleeland (Nat, MLA) 81

Nicole Werner (Lib, MLA) 58

Danny O'Brien (Nat, MLA) 55

Tim Read (Grn, MLA) 52

Cindy McLeish (Lib, MLA) 52

Tim Bull (Nat, MLA) 43

Ellen Sandell (Grn, MLA) 41

Bridget Vallence (Lib, MLA) 32

Kim O'Keeffe (Nat, MLA) 30

Kim Wells (Lib, MLA) 30

Wayne Farnham (Lib, MLA) 29

Brad Rowswell (Lib, MLA) 25

Martin Cameron (Nat, MLA) 21

David Southwick (Lib, MLA) 19

Bill Tilley (Lib, MLA) 19

Tim McCurdy (Nat, MLA) 18

Roma Britnell (Lib, MLA) 15

David Hodgett (Lib, MLA) 14

Richard Riordan (Lib, MLA) 14

Sam Hibbins (Grn/Ind, MLA)* 13

Jade Benham (Nat, MLA) 13

Sam Groth (Lib, MLA) 11

Brad Battin (Lib, MLA) 9

James Newbury (Lib, MLA) 9

Matthew Guy (Lib, MLA) 7

Michael O'Brien (Lib, MLA) 7

Peter Walsh (Nat, MLA) 7

Emma Kealy (Nat, MLA) 4

de Vietri (Grn, MLA) 3
Chris Crewther (Lib, MLA) 3
John Pesutto (Lib, MLA) 3

Rachel Westaway (Lib, MLA)* 1

Ryan Smith (Lib, MLA)* 0

(*) Member has not been present for full period of the 60th parliament (due to resignations or by-election wins). 

As you might expect the most persistent questioners did not sit on the government benches. Possibly less expected was that members of smaller parties like Nationals or Greens punched above their weight relative to many Liberals. Not surprisingly, given the areas they represent, maintenance of country roads was a top concern for National MPs. 

On the government side the most active questioners were metropolitan members from the west and along the Ringwood line (the latter of which has been marginal for Labor). Quieter Labor MPs (at least on transport) are found around Geelong and parts of the south-east. 

You would expect that non-government members who hold their parties' transport portfolios would be particularly active questioners on the topic. The numbers do not show that. 

David Southwick (who had the transport infrastructure role until January 2025) asked 19 questions. Matthew Guy (who had public transport since October 2023) asked 7 questions. The Greens Sam Hibbins (who had his party's transport spokesperson role until claimed by scandal) was more active but still below average with 13 questions asked.

Previous shadow transport ministers in the Legislative Assembly (David Hodgett and Richard Riordan), each with 14 questions, do not stand out although one MLC does as mentioned later. Transport was also rarely top of mind for current Liberal leader Brad Battin (9 questions) and former leader John Pesutto (3 questions).  

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL


Government

Michael Galea (ALP, MLC) 19

Ryan Batchelor (ALP, MLC) 8

John Berger (ALP, MLC) 6

Sheena Watt (ALP, MLC) 5

Tom McIntosh (ALP, MLC) 4

Sonja Terpstra (ALP, MLC) 3

Jacinta Ermacora (ALP, MLC) 2

Lee Tarlamis (ALP, MLC) 0

Non-Government

David Davis (Lib, MLC) 194

Evan Mulholland (Lib, MLC) 100

Wendy Lovell (Lib, MLC) 90

Richard Welch (Lib, MLC)* 52

Aiv Puglielli (Grn, MLC) 41

Trung Luu (Lib, MLC) 39

David Ettershank (Can, MLC) 35

Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell (PHON, MLC) 35

Katherine Copsey (Grn, MLC) 32

Joe McCracken (Lib, MLC) 32

Nick McGowan (Lib, MLC) 31

Bev McArthur (Lib, MLC) 26

Gaelle Broad (Nat, MLC) 23

Ann-Marie Hermans (Lib, MLC) 21

Renee Heath (Lib, MLC) 20

David Limbrick (LP, MLC) 20

Moira Deeming (Lib, MLC) 19

Melina Bath (Nat, MLC) 18

Samantha Ratnam (Grn, MLC)* 17

Sarah Mansfield (Greens, MLC) 13

Rachel Payne (Can, MLC) 13

Matthew Bach (Lib, MLC)* 9

Georgie Purcell (AJP, MLC) 9

Georgie Crozier (Lib, MLC) 7

Anosina Gray-Barberio (Grn, MLC)* 4

Adem Somyurek (Ind, MLC) 3

Jeff Bourman (SFF, MLC) 2

(*) Member has not been present for full period of the 60th parliament (due to resignations or Legislative Council appointments). 

The Legislative Council is quite different to the Legislative Assembly. It is explicitly meant to be a 'house of review'. And it has fewer members, meaning that members who choose to get to ask more questions. It may also help that the government lacks a majority here. 

Most notable (unlike in the Legislative Assembly) is the strength of the Liberals. Most notably David Davis, Evan Mulholland, Wendy Lovell and Richard Welch. All asked over 50 questions with the Suburban Rail Loop a popular topic. Greens, Legalise Cannabis and One Nation MLCs feature in those who asked over 30 questions.

Unlike in the Legislative Assembly those who were or are transport spokespeople for their party (David Davis and Katherine Copsey) were active question askers. 

With few exceptions, Labor Legislative Councillors rarely ask questions, unlike their counterparts in the Legislative Assembly. Of the Labor MLCs Michael Galea stands out, with most others asking five questions or fewer. 

Conclusion

MPs vary greatly in their tendency to ask questions in parliament. 

As might be expected non-government MPs ask more than government MPs. 

There are more questions asked in the Legislative Council than the Legislative Assembly.

Liberals dominate questioning in the Legislative Council whereas the biggest questioners in the Legislative Assembly are Nationals and Greens. 

Labor Legislative Councillors rarely ask questions whereas Labor MLAs do more often. Possibly as MLCs are effectively party appointees who rarely get large personal votes. Whereas MLAs are expected to (within limits) represent their single-member seat, including sometimes asking questions.  

The opposition tends to be the reverse; Liberal MLAs under-ask relative to their counterparts in the Legislative Council. 

It is one of the latter, David Davis MP, who is unmasked as Victoria's transport question king by asking 194 questions so far this parliament. 

Perhaps more MPs, especially Liberals in the lower house and Laborites in the upper house, should have more of what he's drinking.