|
Paragraph (2) was not part of the original standing orders as proposed by the Standing Orders Committee but was the consequence of an amendment moved by Senator Symon (FT, SA) to SO 117(2) to preserve the South Australian practice of allowing for the reconsideration of a bill before it had been reported out of committee.[1] Once the principle had been established, Senator Symon wanted to insert a new standing order to provide the mechanism for reconsideration but was prevented by the chair from doing so and advised to move it as an amendment to original SO 203.[2] The 1989 revision restored Senator Symon’s intended structure by recasting the amendment as a self-contained rule. A proposal to reconsider any clauses may be moved at the end of the committee stage as an amendment to the motion that the bill be reported. An amendment of this type is drafted to supersede the motion to report the bill.
Paragraph (3) is one of those standing orders that are suspended by the operation of the expedited proceedings under SO 113 because it provides for a future day to be appointed for the consideration of the report of the committee of the whole when the committee has made amendments to a bill. The reason for this delay was a practical one because it allowed a fair print to be made of the bill, as reported, so that senators could see it in the amended form before deciding whether to adopt the committee’s report. Indeed, the standing order requires a reprint in this situation. The delay does not apply where the bill is not amended. Under earlier practices, the use of suspensions of standing orders to eliminate these formal delays in the passage of bills was also taken to suspend the requirement for reprinting the bill.[3]
The 1989 revision provided an opportunity to remove a rule which had originated as SO 204 and provided for the Chairman of Committees to carry out various administrative tasks such as certifying the bill and amendments. These practices had not been adhered to for many years and were the kind of task required elsewhere in the standing orders to be carried out by the Clerk. The suggestion for deletion was adopted.[4]
For the mechanics of reporting out of committee of the whole, see SO 148.
|