Queensland MPs to knock off before dinner under new Parliament hours

The Palaszczuk government introduced the new sessional orders, arguing it was outdated to sit until 2am or 3am, and then start again the same day at 9.30am.

Under the new arrangement, sittings will finish at 7.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday and 6.30pm on Thursday, with committee meetings moved to Mondays.

Lunch breaks have been cut from 90 minutes to an hour.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said the government was not seeking to cut back sitting times, but instead introduce a more efficient use of the Parliament.

"There will not be a dinner break, because we will sit until 7.30 in the evening," she said.

"It is not too much to ask for this Parliament to work over four days by having three full sitting days and committees sitting on a Monday because that is an efficient way to operate this chamber.

"And to ensure that members of public can be watching, and not having important debates and decisions made at 1, 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

"It is about time that we can have a sensible, respectful, adult conversation about what are reasonable working times in this chamber."

But LNP leader Deb Frecklington said the laws were "city-friendly" not family-friendly.

"It means that ... any regional member of this house has to leave their family at midday, say, on a Sunday and get down to start [the sitting week]," she said.

"It might be fine for the city members to go home and see their kids at night but the regional members can't."

Ms Frecklington also accused the government of shutting down the parliamentary debate on the question of whether the new hours should be introduced, by only allowing five minutes per MP and one hour in total for the session.

LNP manager of opposition business Jarrod Bleijie said abolishing three-minute statements before question time would lead to a loss of transparency.

"They don't want the grabs on TV," he said.

However, Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said there would be more scrutiny by journalists when Parliament was sitting during normal working hours.

Ms Jones pointed out parliamentary staff did not get accommodation on George Street overnight like MPs, and instead had to drive home late at night.

However, LNP member for Mermaid Beach Ray Stevens said Parliament staff would miss out on overtime payments.

It brings the Queensland Parliament into line with other Australian jurisdictions.

In Victoria, sittings finish at 7.30pm each day, while the Commonwealth Parliament wraps up at 8pm or 5pm.

It will also likely mean fewer late-night surprises, such as when Queensland politicians were forced to run into Parliament with bare feet, and in one case, without a shirt, at 2.30am after a surprise division.

The changes were supported by Labor and Greens MP Michael Berkman but opposed by the LNP, Katter's Australian Party, One Nation MP Stephen Andrew and independent Sandy Bolton.

Queensland Parliament next sits on March 6.