Chapter 16 - Committees
Role of committees
The task most often given to committees is that of conducting
inquiries: of inquiring into specified matters, particularly by taking
submissions and hearing evidence, and reporting findings on those matters to
the Senate. Although the Senate may conduct inquiries directly, committees are
a more convenient vehicle for this activity (see also Chapter 17, Witnesses).
Apart from conducting inquiries, committees may be required to perform
any of the functions of the Senate, including its primary legislative function
of considering proposed laws, the scrutiny of the conduct of public
administration and the consideration of policy issues.
The Constitution recognises committees as essential instruments of the
Houses of the Parliament by referring in section 49 to: “The
powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House of
Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House ...”.
The Senate makes extensive use of committees which specialise in a
range of subject areas. The expertise built up by those committees enables them
to be multi-purpose bodies, capable of undertaking policy-related inquiries,
examining the performance of government agencies and programs or considering
the detail of proposed legislation in the light of evidence given by interested
organisations and individuals. The scrutiny of policy, legislative and
financial measures is a principal role of committees.
Most significantly,
committees provide a means of access for citizens to participate in law making
and policy review. Anyone may make a submission to a committee inquiry and
committees will normally take oral evidence from a selection of witnesses who
have made written submissions. Committees frequently meet outside Canberra, thereby taking
the Senate to the people and gaining first hand knowledge of and exposure to
issues of concern to the public.
Inquiries by committees allow citizens to air grievances about
government and bring to light mistreatment of citizens by government (for an
investigation of oppression of persons by a government agency, see the report of
a standing committee on the Casualties of Telstra, 11/3/1999, J.555-6).
Specialist committees support the Senate’s ability to monitor delegated
legislation made by the executive government and to ensure that all proposals
for legislation do not trespass against fundamental personal rights and
liberties. In the Australian Parliament, only Senate committees perform this
role.
An important outcome of committee work is the opportunity senators gain
to pursue special interests and build up expertise in aspects of public policy,
enhancing the quality of debate and providing a solid grounding for
backbenchers who may go on to be committee chairs, shadow ministers, party
spokespeople or ministers.
The characteristic multi-partisan composition and approach of
committees also provides opportunity for proponents of divergent views to find
common ground. The orderly gathering of evidence by committees and the
provision of a forum for all views can often result in the dissipation of
political heat, consideration of issues on their merits and the development of
recommendations that are acceptable to all sides:
It is in the conference [i.e.,
committee] room that careful, calm consideration can be brought to bear upon a
subject, and [senators] can work harmoniously in spite of party differences. It
is there that the qualities and experience of the individual can be applied to
matters under discussion. It is there that opportunity is provided for vision,
judgment and experience to be applied and, later, brought before the Senate for
open discussion and action. (Chairman of the Select Committee on the Standing
Committee System, Senator R D Elliott, SD, 14/5/1931, pp 1912-3)
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