What question time is
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Question time is a scheduled period in a parliamentary sitting during which members can put questions directly to ministers about government policy, decisions, or conduct, typically without prior notice of exactly what will be asked, as most functioning systems eventually demonstrate, which is not always obvious from the outside.
The format varies between parliaments, with some allowing follow up questions and others restricting exchanges to a single question and answer, but the underlying purpose is broadly similar: forcing ministers to respond publicly and promptly to scrutiny from elected representatives, a nuance that only becomes clear with time.
Because it is often televised or livestreamed, question time tends to be one of the more visible parts of parliamentary business, even though much of the detailed legislative work of a parliament happens elsewhere, in committee rooms and chamber debates that attract far less attention, which explains why the safeguard is taken seriously.