A Typical Sitting Day
House of Representatives
Infosheet No. 2 Revised October 1999 Page menu : The
start of a sitting day | Time of meeting | The
normal routine of business | Questions without notice | Presentation
of papers | Ministerial statements | Matter
of public importance | Notices and orders of the day (government
business) | Adjournment debate | Other business
and interruptions | Private Members' Mondays | PreliminariesSetting
the agenda | Quorum and presence of Members | Main
Committee | Suggestions for further reading The
start of a sitting day Bells ring throughout Parliament
House for five minutes prior to the time fixed for the meeting of the House, to
call Members to the Chamber. As the bells stop, the Speaker enters the Chamber,
preceded by the Serjeant-at-Arms, who announces 'Honourable Membersthe Speaker'.
On taking the Chair the Speaker bows to each side of the Chamber and the Members
present, in turn, bow to the Speaker. The Speaker commences proceedings by reading
two Prayers (as required by the standing orders, one being the Lord's Prayer),
with Members standing, and then calls on the first item of business. 
Time of meeting The standing orders provide for the
time of meeting each day and for the routine of business. Under current arrangements
the House meets at 12.30 p.m. on Mondays, at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, at 9.30 a.m.
on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The House adjourns at 11 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays,
at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and at 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
The normal routine of business The normal routine
of business on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays is as follows (the routine on
Mondays is different and is described later in this Infosheet): Questions
without notice (at 2 p.m.). Presentation of papers. Ministerial
statements. Matter of public importance. Notices and orders
of the day, government business. Adjournment debate. On
Wednesdays and Thursdays when the House meets in the morning, the time prior to
questions at 2 p.m., the time is devoted to notices and orders of the day, government
business.
Questions without notice At 2 p.m. the Speaker calls
on questions without notice, asking 'Are there any questions?' Members stand to
attract the Speaker's attention and the Speaker selects the first questioner,
traditionally an opposition Member. Thereafter questions alternate between government
and non-government Members. Question time is concluded after about 60 minutes
by the Prime Minister or another Minister asking that further questions be placed
on the Notice Paper. Question time is a highlight of the sitting day , most Members
are usually present, the galleries are full and media attention is at its greatest
(Infosheet No. 1 Questions deals
with Question Time in more detail).
Presentation of papers The accountability of the Government
to the House is demonstrated when Ministers present (or 'table') government papers
in the House , thus making them public. The current practice is for a Minister,
usually the Leader of the House, to announce that papers are tabled as listed
in a schedule circulated to Members earlier. If a Minister wishes to make a statement
in connection with any paper he or she will present the paper separately. The
previous practice was for all papers to be presented individually, and this is
still necessary if a list has not been circulated. Following presentation the
Leader of the House or another Minister may move that particular papers be printed,
or that the House take note of certain papers. The motion 'That the House
take note of the paper' is used as a means to enable a paper to be debated, either
at the time it is presented or, more usually, at a later sitting. The selection
of papers for debate is agreed on between the Opposition and the Government prior
to presentation.
Ministerial statements By leave of the House, that
is, agreement of all Members present, Ministers may make statements concerning
government policy or other matters for which they have ministerial responsibility.
This is a demonstration of the accountability of the Government to the House.
Ministerial statements are not an everyday occurrence but, if made, are usually
made at this stage of the day's proceedings. It is normal practice for the opposition
spokesperson on the subject, and occasionally other Members, to make a statement,
by leave, on the same matter in response. Arrangements for ministerial statements
are, in practice, negotiated beforehand with the Opposition, which is supplied
with advance copies of a Minister's intended statement.
Matter of public importance A matter of public importance,
or MPI, is a discussion (on which no vote is taken) on a single and specific topical
issue, usually proposed by the Opposition and often critical of the Government's
handling of a matter , perhaps covering the economy as a whole or concentrating
on a particular aspect or issue. A Member wishing to initiate such a discussion
must write to the Speaker before 12 noon on the day in question and set out the
terms of the matter. The Speaker reads out the proposed matter to the House. Discussion
may proceed if it is supported by at least eight Members. Under the standing orders
up to two hours are allowed for the discussion but it may be terminated before
the allotted time by any Member (in practice a Minister) moving 'That the business
of the day be called on'. In recent years the time has usually been limited to
about 50 minutes by agreement between the parties, permitting two Members on each
side to speak.
Notices and orders of the day (government business)
Most of the time of the House is taken up with these items of business, that is,
with the Government's business for the day. 'Notices' are written advices
or notifications of motions to be moved or bills to be presented. Notices must
be signed and handed in in time to be printed on the next day's Notice Paper.
When a notice is called on (that is, announced) by the Clerk the relevant Minister
rises to move the motion or present the bill concerned. Most notices are for the
presentation of bills. Following presentation, a bill is formally read a first
time, the Minister explains the principles of the bill (second reading speech)
and (with the exception of appropriation and supply bills) presents to the House
an explanatory memorandum containing a detailed explanation of the reasons for,
and clauses of, the bill. An 'order of the day' is a matter that has come
before the House earlier and which the House has decided should be considered
further at a later date. Often orders of the day are for the resumption of debate
on the second reading of bills. Other orders of the day could be the resumption
of debate on motions to take note of papers. When an order of the day is called
on by the Clerk, debate is resumed at the point at which it was stopped earlier.
If an order of the day before the House is not disposed of (that is, voted on
and decided) it continues as an order of the day for the next sitting. Notices
and orders of the day are called on by the Clerk in the order in which they appear
on the Notice Paper, that is, the order determined by the Government before the
Paper is printed, usually the previous day. Other business may be interspersed,
for example a Minister may present a taxation bill for which notice is not necessary.
Although not appearing on the Notice Paper, such items would normally be included
in the Daily Program, a published informal guide to the day's business. The
length of time devoted to debate on each item depends on its urgency, the amount
of time available and the number of Members wishing to speak on it. Usually such
matters are arranged by negotiation between the parties. When debate on an
item of business has concluded, a vote is taken. This may be 'on the voices' (that
is, without a count) or, if demanded by more than one Member, by division. If
a division is called, the bells are rung to summon Members to the Chamber and
the House divides, that is, Members move to opposite sides of the Chamber for
their votes to be counted for or against.
Adjournment debate Thirty minutes before the House
is scheduled to adjourn the Speaker proposes the question 'That the House do now
adjourn' (a Minister may move the motion earlier if other business has been completed).
The adjournment motion is an opportunity when matters not relevant to the question
before the Chair may be debated. The opportunity is particularly valued by private
Members because they may use this time to raise matters of individual or constituency
concern. Each Member may speak for five minutes. As with question time the call
is alternated between non-government and government Members. At 11 p.m. (or 8
p.m. on Wednesdays or 6 p.m. on Thursdays) the Speaker interrupts proceedings.
At this stage a Minister may require the adjournment debate to be continued, for
a maximum of ten minutes, in order to reply to points raised by Members during
the preceding debate. If the debate is not required to be continued, or after
the conclusion of the Minister's reply or after 10 minutes, the Speaker adjourns
the House until the time of its next meeting.
Other business and interruptions As necessary
and convenient other business, for example the announcement of communications
('messages') from the Governor-General or the Senate, or the presentation of papers
or committee reports, may be taken between items of scheduled business. Business
may also be interrupted by such matters as points of order arising, quorum calls,
or by Members being granted leave of the Chair to explain matters of a personal
nature (most personal explanations occur following the presentation of papers).
Private Members' Mondays The order of business on
Mondays is as follows: - Presentation of parliamentary committee and
delegation reports
- Resumption of debate on committee and delegation reports
presented at a previous sitting
- Private Members' business (motions and bills
sponsored by private Members)
- Members' statements (a 15 minute period for
Members to address the House for 90 seconds each)
- Questions without notice
- Presentation of petitions
- A further period of private Members' business
- Grievance debate
- Notices and orders of the day, government business
Infosheet No. 6 Opportunities for Private
Members describes these proceedings in detail.
PreliminariesSetting the agenda Prior to each sitting
of the House (other than the first of a session of Parliament) a Notice Paper,
or agenda, is published. The Notice Paper lists all business currently before
the House and all business intended to come before the House for which notice
(that is, advance warning) has been giventhus covering business to be considered
over several weeks. Items of business are listed in the order they are to be considered.
A better idea of the program of business each day can be obtained from the
'Daily Program'. The Daily Program shows only the business expected to be dealt
with on a particular day. Unlike the Notice Paper it is not a formal document,
but is a very useful guide.
Quorum and presence of Members All Members are not
present in the Chamber throughout the sittings. Members are busy people with many
demands on their time. Besides their duties in the Chamber itself and in the Main
Committee, they have meetings of parliamentary and party committees to attend,
research to undertake, speeches to prepare and innumerable matters to deal with
on behalf of their constituents. The demands on the time of Ministers and office
holders, with more public duties to carry out and administrative responsibilities,
are even greater. The quorum of the House (that is, the minimum number of
Members present) is one fifth of its Members, that is, 30. A quorum must exist
when the House meets and when a division occurs. Otherwise the House can, and
often does, conduct its business with fewer Members present. However, any Member
may at any time insist on the presence of a quorum by drawing the Chair's attention
'to the state of the House'. On a quorum being called, the bells ring to summons
Members, who break off whatever activity they are engaged in in other parts of
the House to go to the Chamber. It is accepted practice that a quorum will not
always be present, as it is acknowledged by all parties that Members have other
legitimate demands on their time.
Main Committee Orders of the day may be referred
by the House for debate in the Main Committee. The Main Committee generally meets
on Wednesdays and on Thursdays from 9.40 am to 1 pm, but it may also meet at other
times if the amount of business necessitates. On days the Main Committee meets
a program for the Committee is published as an attachment to the Daily Program.
Main Committee business is listed in a separate section of the Notice Paper. For
details of the operation of the Main Committee see Infosheet
No. 16 The Main Committee .
Suggestions for further readingHouse
of Representatives Practice, 3rd edn. A.G.P.S., Canberra, 1997. pp 255-296.
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure. About time:
bills, questions and working hours. Report of the inquiry into reform of the House
of Representatives. AGPS, Canberra, 1993. (Parliamentary Paper 194 of 1993.
pp 34-36.) Last updated: 12 November 1999
Last updated: October 1999
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