Committee establishment, role and history
The standing committee is one of thirteen general purpose investigatory committees
established by the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia.
Information on the establishment, role and powers of House of Representatives
committees can be found at the Committee
Office home page and in chapters 16 and 17 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.
In summary, the role of the Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage
is to carry out inquiries into matters referred to it by the House of
Representatives or a Minister of the Commonwealth Government. The Committee
may also inquire into matters raised in annual reports of Commonwealth
Government departments and authorities or in reports of the Commonwealth
Auditor-General.
In the 39th Parliament the Committee's name was changed to emphasise
the focus on environment and heritage matters.
The Committee has had the following name change in previous Parliaments:
- 1987-98 Standing Committee on Environment, Recreation and the
Arts
- 1972-87 Standing Committee on Environment and Conservation
A full list of reports tabled by the Committee and its predecessors
is available online together with reports of
inquiries completed since 1997.
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