A Glossary of Parliamentary Words

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A-Z Index of glossary

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

A

1. address (to the Governor-General or the Queen)

   a formal message to the Governor-General or the Queen by a house of Parliament stating the view of the house or making a request; the message is often in answer to the Governor-Generals speech on the opening of a session of Parliament (address-in-reply), but may also be a message of congratulations, sympathy or farewell, or a request that the Governor-General, as a constituent part of the Parliament, perform a particular action

2. address-in-reply

   the formal answer of each house to the speech made by the Queen, or the Governor-General as her representative, at the opening of each session of the Parliament

C

1. cut-off

   a deadline for the introduction of government bills into the Senate, imposed by the Senate in an attempt to avoid a rush of bills at the end of sittings; in order to be considered in a period of sittings a bill must be first introduced in either house in the previous period of sittings, and be received by the Senate before two-thirds of the current sitting period has expired

F

1. first chamber

   a name for the lower and usually larger house of a legislature; in Australia, the House of Representatives

2. first reading

   the first stage in the progress through a house of a bill (also called its initiation), marked by the reading by the Clerk out loud for the first time of the long title of a bill, usually straight after it is presented to the house

3. first speech (formerly maiden speech)

   the first speech in Parliament by a newly-elected member, when the member is traditionally heard without interjection or interruption

4. first-past-the-post

   a way of voting where the candidate who gets the largest number of votes wins, even if it is less than half the votes cast

L

1. life (of a Parliament)

   the period of time from the first meeting of a House of Representatives to the dissolution (breaking up) or expiry of the House

M

1. maiden speech (see first speech)

O

1. opening speech (at the opening of Parliament)

   a speech by the Queen, or her representative, the Governor-General, in which the reasons for the calling together of Parliament are given, the affairs of the country are reviewed and the governments plans for new laws are outlined

P

1. preferential voting

   a system of voting in which a voter shows an order of preference for candidates; if no candidate receives more than half of first preference votes (or in the case of voting for the Senate, candidates have not achieved a pre-determined quota), the next preferences of voters for the least successful candidates are distributed until candidate or candidates are elected

R

1. reading (of a bill)

   a formal stage in the passage of a bill through a house of Parliament; the first reading occurs when a bill is introduced, the second when it has been agreed to in principle and the third when it has been fully considered and any amendments agreed to; it is usual practice for the second reading of a bill to be moved immediately after the bill has been read a first time

S

1. secretary (of a parliamentary committee)

   a parliamentary officer who looks after the support arrangements for a parliamentary committee, including correspondence, record-keeping, research, and arrangements for meetings where witnesses give evidence, and who often prepares the first draft of a committees report

2. session

   a parliamentary period which starts on the first day of sitting after an election or prorogation and ends at a prorogation or a dissolution of the House of Representatives or, if neither has happened, after three years; a session may last from one day to three years