But questions are being asked about question time, whether it serves its purpose and whether it leaves our democracy a little worse off each day, with predictable Dorothy Dixers, abuse thrown across the chamber and members focused solely on their mobile phones.

Former speaker Harry Jenkins, who presided over the house between 2008 and 2011, has called for a parliamentary committee considering how question time serves its purpose in the modern world.

"In the 21st century if you were building our parliamentary procedure from scratch would you have question time? Would you have other aspects that are at the hands of the parliament that might achieve the same things that you hope to achieve from question time, that is accountability, seeking information?"

"That is the first step trying to work out what it is you require and you want to achieve from the conduct of a proper parliamentary question time."

Asked whether he would scrap question time entirely, Mr Jenkins said "yeah" but "I'm reluctant to verbalise in it that way".

"I would only do it if the procedures of parliament became fair dinkum about using other avenues that are available and to get people to take it seriously."

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Using the Federation Chamber, the committee system and other elements of parliament could be a better way to get information and assistance for constituents, Mr Jenkins said, without the theatrics of question time, an element he believed didn't show parliament at its best.

Unlike Mr Jenkins, fellow former speaker Anna Burke is firmly in favour of retaining question time, but overhauling it to ensure it is short and sharp.

"I would not ever countenance an idea of getting rid of such an institution," Ms Burke said.

"It provides the ability to hold the government of the day to account and for the government of the day to show runs on the board."

Speaker between 2012 and 2013 during a tumultuous period in Australian politics, Ms Burke said small changes made over many years had improved the conduct of question time.

"I think less is more, a tight and consistent question time," she said, pointing to the United Kingdom's House of Commons, where answers are limited to just 30 seconds.

One thing both Mr Jenkins and Ms Burke agreed on was getting rid of mobile phones in the chamber, with a sea of faces trained on screens a bad look to the public. Ms Burke said she had even received a complaint from a member of the public who had attended question time only to see an MP buying shoes online in the chamber.