Viewers of question time could be forgiven for thinking that all MPs do is shout at each other for one hour a day, but hidden behind that arena is a collaborative network delivering the thousands of pages of legislation needed to make the country run.

And new data on the workings of Parliament indicates that to keep things running smoothly MPs are working longer hours than ever.

There were 181 votes in the House of Representatives in 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Statistics from the parliamentary library show despite the chamber hijinks, the House of Representatives passed 163 pieces of legislation in 2017 and the Senate passed 141.

That's more than in 2016, an election year, when the lower house passed 123 pieces of legislation and the Senate passed 123.