#Title

More into self-praise
FROM PAGE 1
president’s speech. Of the time, 156.28 hours were allocated to the ruling party MPs.
The ruling party MPs spent 19.8 percent time praising the prime minister and their own party, and 19.4 percent time on various achievements of the government. They spent 6.7 percent time discussing Bangabandhu and the Mujib Borsho celebration, and 0.4 percent time (2.97 hours) talking about corruption.
The prime minister’s question-answer session lasted over 13 hours. Nearly half of that time was spent to talk about matters outside the question, such as praising the prime minister and blasting opposition parties.
Iftekharuzzaman said although legislative activities are one of the most important roles of lawmakers, in many cases they show little interest, or have the required skills and knowledge, to deliberate laws.
The 10th parliament spent 12 percent of the time on legislative affairs; it was 8 percent in the previous parliament.
Despite an increase in the average time spent on law enactment, there was a lack of spontaneous participation and constructive debates. Majority of the ruling party MPs limited their participation to voting for the bills, said the report.
The three standing committees on Rules of Procedure, Privileges and Petitions did not hold any meeting yet, while some other committees did not sit for months on end.
For example, the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance did not hold a single meeting in 18 months since March 2020. The House committee on the Health and Family Welfare did not sit even once for the first nine months of the 11th parliament.
The standing committee on public accounts held 117 meetings, the highest, although it failed to hold the mandatory meeting every month, said TIB officials.
On average, 60 percent of the members were present in the meetings. Analysis of 26 standing committee reports shows 51 percent of its recommendations were implemented.
A total of 54.38 hours, or 14 minutes per working day, were lost due to quorum crisis. In the process, Tk 89.28 crore, or Tk 2.72 lakh per minute, were lost for nothing, the report said.
The average attendance was 55 percent in the 11th parliament, down from 63 percent in the 10th parliament. The opposition leader’s attendance was 19 percent, which was 59 percent in the previous parliament.
The House leader’s attendance was 94 percent in the current parliament, up from 82 percent in the last parliament.
In its recommendation, TIB said the House should pass a bill on the code of conduct for lawmakers on their behaviour. It also urged the Speaker to take strong measures to stop the use of abusive and unparliamentarily words in the House.

Australia fires force evacuations as country swelters
AFP, Sydney
Out-of-control bushfires forced hundreds of residents and tourists to flee several towns in rural southeast Australia yesterday, as the country sweltered in extreme temperatures.
People in four towns in Victoria state’s Gippsland, a region of national parks and wineries popular with tourists, were told to evacuate immediately while residents of three other towns and surrounding areas were warned to prepare to leave.
Among those who escaped was Briagolong resident Rob Saunders, who saw the flames reach his house.
“I watched the main water tank, the plastic tanks melt away,” he told public broadcaster ABC.
“The car port is gone, the camper trailer and bits and pieces all went up (in flames).
“I looked to the side of my house, it’s a mud brick, raw timber house, one of my verandah posts was on fire...it was time for me to go.”
Further north in Sydney, temperatures reached 35.5 degrees Celsius (95.9 degrees Fahrenheit) -- the warmest October day since 2019. The hottest October day on record was 38.2C in 2004.
October temperature records are usually set towards the end of the month, as the days get longer and Australia gets closer to summer.
But Angus Hines, senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, told AFP: “To even be within cooee (near to records) on the first day of the month is unusual, for sure.”
As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned heatwaves and other extreme weather events will become more frequent and intense.