House of Representatives Practice

Fifth Edition

Chapter 8 Order of business and the sitting day

This chapter outlines the proceedings on a normal sitting day, from Prayers to adjournment, under the ordinary order of business provided for in standing order 34. It also details the many interventions which can occur under specific standing orders and by way of tactical moves. The chapter also encompasses the division procedures and quorum provisions, which often play a significant part in the daily routine of the House.

Sittings

Definition

A sitting means the period commencing with the meeting of the House and concluding at the adjournment of the House.¹ A sitting commences when the Speaker takes the Chair.² If there is no quorum present at that time and the Speaker is compelled to adjourn the House in accordance with standing order 57, a sitting of the House has taken place in the terms of this definition. The only occasion of such a sitting was on 19 September 1913.³

The term ‘sitting day’ is not defined by the standing orders. However, the practice of the House is that a sitting day is a day on which the House commences a sitting following an adjournment, and continues until a motion for its adjournment is carried. In other words, a sitting day is taken to mean a day on which the House meets to begin a sitting and not any day on which the House sits. Thus a sitting day may continue for one or more calendar days.

Even where one sitting continues over two or more full days, for example, the sitting that commenced on Wednesday, 6 December 1933 and continued on the Thursday and Friday without adjournment, there would be only one sitting day. It is important to note in this context that, as a Notice Paper is only issued for each new sitting and as a notice of motion only becomes effective when it appears on the Notice Paper, a notice of motion to disallow a regulation, for example, which is given on the first day of a three day sitting, would not be effective until the next Notice Paper is issued.

Where two sittings of the House occur on one day ‘this could only be regarded as one sitting day; there would be two sittings but one could hardly say that there were two sitting days’.⁴

The term ‘sitting day’ has special legal significance because of statutory requirements for the tabling of delegated legislation within a specified number of sitting days of being made, and in relation to the number of sitting days within which a notice of motion may be given for the purpose of disallowing delegated legislation and the number of sitting days within which such a notice of motion must be disposed of by the House.⁵ Many statutes also require a Minister to table a report or other document within a certain number of sitting days of its receipt.⁶ There is no statutory definition of what constitutes a sitting day for these purposes.⁷

Two sittings commencing on the one day

On two occasions the House has commenced and concluded two sittings within the one day. The first occasion was on 11 April 1935 when leave was refused at the first sitting to allow a motion to be moved to grant leave of absence to all Members. Notice of such a motion was then given and following the alteration of the day of next meeting the House was adjourned until 5 p.m. A new Notice Paper was issued and, at the next sitting, the motion was moved, pursuant to notice.⁸ Such a motion can now be moved without notice.

On 2 September 1942 the House met at 3 p.m. and agreed to a motion of condolence in respect of the death of the Duke of Kent. Following the alteration of the day of next meeting, the House adjourned as a mark of respect until 7.30 p.m.⁹ Current practice in such circumstances would be for the House to adjourn until the next sitting day or for the sitting to be suspended until a stated time.

There have been occasions when the House has adjourned after a lengthy sitting, only to meet again shortly afterwards but in a new sitting day. For example, the House met at 11.50 a.m. on Monday, 24 May 1965, and the sitting continued until 4.32 a.m. on Wednesday, 26 May. The next sitting commenced at 5 a.m. that day. The purpose of the new sitting was to enable new business to be taken.¹⁰

Length of sittings

The shortest sitting of the House was on 14 March 1928 when the House adjourned one minute after it met to enable Members to attend functions in honour of the eminent aviator, Captain Hinkler.¹¹ On 24 October 2002 the House adjourned 2 minutes after it met, to enable Members to attend a national memorial service in the Great Hall for the victims of terrorist attacks in Bali.¹²

The longest sitting of the House was from 11 a.m. on Friday, 18 January 1918 until 6.22 p.m. on Friday, 25 January 1918, a period of 175 hours 22 minutes. This period, however, included a suspension of the sitting from 3.09 a.m. on 19 January until 3 p.m. on 25 January.¹³ In a sitting of the House that lasted from 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, 16 November 1905 until 12.05 p.m. on Monday, 20 November 1905 (the sitting was suspended over the Sunday) the House sat for a continuous period of 57 hours 30 minutes prior to the suspension at midnight on the Saturday.¹⁴

On the occasion of one lengthy sitting Hansard staff were discharged during the adjournment debate and Members forwarded precis of their remarks for inclusion in Hansard.¹⁵ Modern practice allowing proceedings to be recorded would mean that such action would no longer be necessary.

Joint sittings

The Constitution provides for a joint sitting of members of both Houses for the resolution of disagreements between the Houses over legislation if such disagreements persist following a double dissolution—see Chapter on ‘Disagreements between the Houses’. The Commonwealth Electoral Act provides for a joint sitting of members of both Houses to choose a person to fill certain casual vacancies in places of Senators for Territories other than the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory¹⁶—see Chapter on ‘Elections and the electoral system’.

Joint meetings

On several occasions ‘conferences’, or alternatively ‘joint meetings’ (as used on these occasions the terms would appear effectively synonymous¹⁷), of all members of both Houses have been proposed. A meeting of this kind (as distinct from a joint sitting—see above) is not provided for in the standing orders or the Constitution but would not be prevented should both Houses agree and determine the procedure to be followed.

On 22 September 1903 the Prime Minister moved that a ‘conference’ be held of all Members of both Houses to consider the selection of a site for the seat of Government. and that the Senate be requested to concur with the resolution. The motion was agreed to, after amendment, on 23 September.¹⁸ On 30 September the Senate resolved not to concur with the House’s resolution¹⁹ and the proposal was not further proceeded with.

On 14 May 1931 the Prime Minister made a statement to the House suggesting a ‘conference’ of all Members of Parliament to consider Australia’s economic and financial problems.²⁰ His suggestion was that such a conference last for a week during which there would be ‘a general frank discussion, devoid of party feeling’. Some days later the Leader of the Opposition made a statement in which he opposed such a conference²¹ and the proposal was not further proceeded with.

On three other occasions proposals for a conference or joint meeting of Members of both Houses have been put forward, in each case on the subject of the site for a new and permanent Parliament House. On 28 May 1969 the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate moved that a ‘conference’ of both Houses be convened to express a point of view on the site of the new and permanent Parliament House.²² The motion was debated and negatived by the Senate on 29 May.²³ On 6 May 1971 a similar motion was again moved and agreed to by the Senate.²⁴ The message from the Senate requesting consideration by the House of the Senate’s resolution was received by the House on 7 May²⁵ but was never debated. On 23 August 1973 a motion was moved in the House proposing a joint meeting of both Houses to determine the site of the new and permanent Parliament House.²⁶ On 24 October the House agreed to the motion which was transmitted to the Senate.²⁷ The House received a message from the Senate not agreeing with the proposal on 20 November 1973.²⁸

On 2 January 1992, 20 November 1996 and 23 October 2003 the House and the Senate met (concurrently rather than jointly) in the House of Representatives Chamber to hear an address by the President of the United States.²⁹ The Senate met in the House Chamber at the House’s invitation; the Speaker presided and the procedures of the House applied so far as they were applicable.³⁰ A similar arrangement applied for an address by the President of China on 24 October 2003.³¹ At the close of the joint meeting on 23 October 2003, two Senators who had caused disruption to proceedings and who had refused to leave when ordered to leave the House (under then standing order 304A) were named and suspended for 24 hours for defying the Chair.³² Following this incident the Senate endorsed the view of its Procedure Committee that in future such occasions be conducted as sittings of the House to which Senators are invited.³³ The House Procedure Committee made a recommendation to the same effect.³⁴

On 9 May 2001 the House met with the Senate at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne to mark the centenary of the first meetings of the Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1901. At the end of the common proceedings the two Houses were adjourned separately by their respective Presiding Officers.³⁵

Secret sittings and meetings

During war time the House has conducted a portion of a sitting in secret and has also held secret meetings and joint secret meetings with the Senate. These meetings are not regarded as sittings of the House. For the joint meetings a regulation under the National Security Act was gazetted setting out the conditions of secrecy of any such meetings convened by a specific resolution agreed to by both Houses.³⁶

While the estimates for the Department of Defence were being discussed in the Committee of Supply on the morning of 13 December 1940, notice was taken of the presence of strangers³⁷ who were then ordered to withdraw. The estimates were then discussed in secret and the recording of debates suspended from 12.32 a.m. until 3.30 a.m.³⁸ On two occasions in 1941 strangers were ordered to withdraw and the sitting suspended so that the House could meet in secret.³⁹ On such occasions Senators present were not regarded as strangers.

Joint secret meetings were held with the Senate on 20 February, 3 and 4 September and 8 October 1942. The meetings were held in the House of Representatives Chamber, the first during the suspension of a sitting, the others following the adjournment of the House.⁴⁰ Certain departmental staff were permitted to be present and the Serjeant-at-Arms remained in the Chamber. During World War I a secret meeting took place informally in the Senate Club Room where Members and Senators were asked to attend by the Prime Minister.

Suspension of sittings

A sitting is suspended by the Speaker leaving the Chair, usually after a direct or indirect declaration of the will of the House, for example to allow a meal break to be taken (see p. 243). A suspension of a sitting can occur pursuant to standing orders, pursuant to a resolution of the House, or in accordance with accepted practice.

Pursuant to standing orders

The standing orders make provision for the suspension of a sitting in the following circumstances.

Election of Speaker and deputies

If a special ballot for the election of Speaker, Deputy Speaker or Second Deputy Speaker is inconclusive because of an equality of votes and the equality continues, the sitting is suspended for 30 minutes.⁴¹ No such case has ever occurred.

Once the Speaker has taken the Chair on being elected and has been congratulated, the Prime Minister or another Minister informs the House of the time that the Governor-General will receive the Members of the House and the Speaker⁴² and the sitting is suspended until that time. The sitting was not formally suspended following the election of Speaker Rosevear in 1946 as the Governor-General received the new Speaker immediately.⁴³

Meeting of a new Parliament

After the Speaker has presented himself or herself to the Governor-General and reported that fact to the House, the standing orders provide that a Minister shall then inform the House of the time that the Governor-General will declare the causes of the calling of the Parliament together (the ‘opening speech’) and the House may then suspend its sitting until that time.⁴⁴ The contemporary practice of the House is that there is no suspension of the sitting at this point, as Members are summoned to hear the opening speech shortly after the presentation.

Grave disorder

In the case of grave disorder arising in the House, the Speaker may adjourn the House without question put,⁴⁵ or suspend the sitting until a time to be named.⁴⁶ Sittings have been suspended in these circumstances for a period as short as 15 minutes,⁴⁷ until the next day,⁴⁸ and until the ringing of the bells.⁴⁹ On one occasion the Mace, then normally left in the Chamber during the suspension of a sitting, was removed by the Serjeant-at-Arms at the direction of the Speaker.⁵⁰ On two occasions sittings have been suspended for short periods following grave disorder in the galleries.⁵¹

Lack of quorum

Standing order 57 provides that, if it has been established that a quorum of Members is not present but the Speaker is satisfied that there is likely to be a quorum within a reasonable time, the Speaker may state the time at which he or she will resume the Chair. The sitting is then suspended until the Speaker resumes the Chair (for occasions see p. 269).

Pursuant to resolution of the House

The House has agreed to a motion, moved pursuant to notice, to suspend the next day’s sitting for a stated period.⁵²

The sessional orders relating to the meeting of legislation committees adopted in 1978 required that, unless otherwise ordered, legislation committees would meet during a suspension of the sitting of the House arranged for that purpose.⁵³ The only occasion that a sitting was suspended for this purpose was on 27 September 1978. On all other occasions the committees were authorised to meet during the sittings of the House.

Practice of the House

The practice has been that, in cases not provided for by resolution of the House or by the standing orders, sittings are suspended with the concurrence of the House. Exceptions have been when the Chair has suspended a sitting for the duration of power failures or because of a fault in the loud speaker system.⁵⁴

On three occasions the action of the Chair in suspending a sitting, without ascertaining the wish of Members, has been questioned. On two of these occasions, a motion critical of the Chair’s action was rejected by the House. In 1912 the Chair acknowledged responsibility for curtailing the normal luncheon suspension by 15 minutes. A motion that the action of the Chair was a breach of the privileges of Members was negatived.⁵⁵ In 1917 the action of the Speaker in suspending a sitting without calling on business on the Notice Paper and without ascertaining the wish of the House was questioned. The Speaker replied that it was usual for the Speaker to suspend the sitting of the House temporarily at any time when requested to do so by the Minister in charge of business. He also stated that the Speaker might leave the Chair at any time and this was often done without any vote of the House.⁵⁶ On 17 December 1930 the Speaker, at the suggestion of the Acting Prime Minister, suspended the sitting at 3.38 p.m. The Leader of the Opposition objected. On the resumption of the sitting the Speaker referred to doubts that had been expressed as to his authority to suspend the sitting and ruled that, in vacating the Chair when the House had no business before it and was awaiting a message from the Senate, he had followed the practice of every previous Speaker. The ruling was subject to a motion of dissent which was later debated and negatived.⁵⁷

Meal breaks

In earlier years it was the common practice to suspend a sitting for lunch and dinner.⁵⁸ The (early rising) sitting timetable in effect in 1994 and 1995 did not provide for meal breaks, but meal breaks were taken on some occasions when the normal order of business had been departed from, such as to allow the main Budget bills to be presented,⁵⁹ to allow the Leader of the Opposition’s reply to the Budget to be made,⁶⁰ or towards the end of sitting periods when the House sat into the evening.⁶¹

The timetables in effect from 1996 provided for evening meal breaks (6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.) on scheduled late sitting days. The Chair was regarded as having some discretion as to the precise timing of the start of these suspensions (to accommodate Members who, for example, could complete a speech shortly after 6.30 or who did not wish to be called to start a speech just before 6.30). The sitting always resumed at 8 p.m.

Since the current early rising timetable was adopted in 2003 there has been no provision for evening meal breaks. However, divisions (unless on a motion moved during that period by a Minister) called between the hours of 6.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (the former meal break period) on Monday and Tuesday are deferred until after 8 p.m.,⁶² and in the case of quorum calls during this period, the House is counted at 8 p.m. (if the Member calling the quorum requires).

Other occasions

Sittings of the House have been suspended on other occasions for a variety of reasons. Sittings extending over more than one calendar day are usually suspended overnight.⁶³ During all-night sittings of the House the sitting has been suspended for supper⁶⁴ and at breakfast time.⁶⁵ Sittings have also been suspended from the early hours of the morning until a later hour that morning⁶⁶ or until the afternoon.⁶⁷ On two occasions the House has suspended its sitting over Sunday⁶⁸ and on another a sitting was suspended for almost a week as that was the wish of the House.⁶⁹

Sittings are often suspended to allow Members to attend functions. These suspensions are not necessarily recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.⁷⁰ It has been the regular practice of the House to suspend the sitting to allow Members to attend a social function on the opening day of a Parliament,⁷¹ and to enable Members to accompany the Speaker to present the Address in Reply to the Governor-General.⁷² It has also been the practice that, if the House does not adjourn following a motion of condolence on the death of a sitting Member or a Minister, the sitting is suspended until the time the House would normally meet after the next meal break.⁷³

The Speaker has also suspended a sitting for the following reasons:

• because of power failures in Parliament House;⁷⁴
• because of a fault in the loud speaker system;⁷⁵
• (in lieu of adjournment) to avoid the possibility of the House not being able to meet next day through lack of a quorum;⁷⁶
• as a mark of respect to a deceased Senator;⁷⁷
• because of the illness of a Member in the House;⁷⁸
• because the House was awaiting a message from the Senate;⁷⁹
• to enable Members to consider statements made by persons judged to be guilty of a breach of privilege;⁸⁰
• to enable the House to hold secret meetings;⁸¹
• to enable secret meetings to be held jointly with the Senate;⁸²
• to allow Ministers to attend a meeting of the Australian Advisory War Council;⁸³
• to allow Members to watch or listen to the running of the Melbourne Cup;⁸⁴
• to allow Members to attend such ceremonies as Remembrance Day;⁸⁵
• because of the unveiling of a monument by the Duke of Edinburgh;⁸⁶
• because of the swearing in of a Governor-General;⁸⁷
• because of the inauguration of a wireless telephone service between Australia and Great Britain;⁸⁸ and
• when there was agreement to a later meeting, on a Monday, at which a special motion on terrorist attacks (occurring since the adjournment) would be debated.⁸⁹

On 11 November 1992 the sitting was suspended from 11 a.m. to 11.02 a.m., pursuant to motion, to enable Members present to commemorate Remembrance Day with two minutes silence.⁹⁰ On 8 December 1998 the Speaker suspended the sitting immediately after the meeting of the House, after reading Prayers, when a luncheon for a visiting dignitary had lasted longer than expected.⁹¹

On 11 November 1975, the House having agreed to a motion expressing its want of confidence in the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) and requesting the Speaker to forthwith advise the Governor-General to call the Member for Werriwa (Mr Whitlam) to form a Government, the Speaker suspended the sitting at 3.15 p.m. The sitting did not resume as both Houses were dissolved by the Governor-General.⁹²

Meeting of the House

The standing orders,⁹³ often amended by sessional order, fix the times at which the House shall meet for the despatch of business, unless otherwise ordered. The timetable adopted in 2003 provided that the House would meet as follows:

Monday, at 12.30 p.m.

Tuesday, at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, at 9 a.m.

Thursday, at 9 a.m.

It is not uncommon for the days and hours of meeting to be changed by the House, especially towards the end of sitting periods.⁹⁴ At the rising of the House at the conclusion of each sitting, the Chair states the day and hour of the next meeting.

Preliminaries to meeting—the Daily Program

Except for the first sitting day of a session, a Notice Paper setting out the order of business to be followed is prepared under the authority of the Clerk of the House and issued prior to each sitting of the House.⁹⁵ The order of government business as it appears on the Notice Paper is determined by the Leader of the House on the evening prior to each issue of the Notice Paper, and the Table Office is informed accordingly.

The Department of the House of Representatives also issues a Daily Program⁹⁶ under the authority of the Clerk of the House. This is issued for each calendar day on which the House sits, rather than for each sitting. The Daily Program is compiled by the Table Office using information provided by the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition Business, Ministers, whips and other Members who have business to bring forward and reflecting determinations of the Selection Committee. While the Notice Paper lists all unresolved business before the House, including questions in writing, the Daily Program shows only those items of business which the House is expected to deal with on that particular day. This can include business which is not on the Notice Paper—for example, certain types of bills or motions which are permitted to be introduced or moved without notice. If variations are expected from the order of business shown on the Notice Paper, the Daily Program indicates the procedural motions necessary to enable these variations to be made. The Daily Program shows the expected sequence of items of business, but not the timing of the commencement of each item, as this is uncertain in most cases. If the Main Committee is sitting on that day, an attachment to the Daily Program lists the proposed Main Committee order of business. Another attachment gives details of public hearings of House and joint committees.

Unlike the Notice Paper the Daily Program is not a formal document and it does not fix the order of business or limit the scope of business. It serves as a useful guide to Ministers and Members in planning their day’s work in relation to the business of the House.

Meetings at hour other than pursuant to adjournment

When a delay or other change in the time of the next meeting is foreseen, the House alters the hour of meeting by resolution.⁹⁷ When the House is not sitting the Speaker may set an alternative day or hour for the next meeting, and must notify each Member of any change.⁹⁸

In earlier Parliaments the Speaker did not have such power to vary the meeting times unless authorised by special adjournment resolution. Past cases of the House meeting at a time other than that specified pursuant to adjournment, including occasions not authorised by resolution of the House and occasions of changes by the Speaker in accordance with special adjournment resolutions, are described in previous editions.⁹⁹ A common factor is that in such matters Speakers have had regard to the wishes of the Government.

Meeting when House has not adjourned the previous sitting

On the evening of 16 August 1923, the Government having been twice defeated on the motion ‘That the House do now adjourn’, the Leader of the Opposition moved ‘That Mr Speaker do now leave the Chair’. During the division on that question the Speaker, in reply to a question as to when he would resume the Chair if he left it, replied that he would resume at 11 a.m. the next day. The motion was agreed to and the Speaker left the Chair.¹⁰⁰ The House met at 11 a.m. the next day, and a Notice Paper had been issued. After Prayers the Leader of the Opposition contended that the proceedings were irregular as the House had not adjourned the previous evening and the sitting should have resumed from where it had left off. The Speaker ruled that, it being the day fixed by sessional order for the meeting of the House, he had taken the Chair according to the terms of the standing order which provided that ‘The Chair shall be taken by the Speaker at the time appointed on every day fixed for the meeting of the House’.

Prayers

Upon taking the Chair of the House each day, and a quorum of Members being present (see p. 265), the Speaker reads the following Prayers:

Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to vouch safe Thy blessing upon this Parliament. Direct and prosper our deliberations to the advancement of Thy glory, and the true welfare of the people of Australia.

Our Father, which art in Heaven: Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.¹⁰¹

Prayers have not been read on the first day of a new Parliament or on other occasions when, because of death or resignation, the first item of business is the election of a new Speaker.¹⁰² Prayers have not been read at the second sitting on a day when two sittings have been held¹⁰³ or when the Chair has been resumed on another day following a suspension of a sitting.¹⁰⁴

On 7 June 1901 the House agreed to a motion ‘That the Standing Orders should provide that, upon Mr Speaker taking the Chair, he shall read a prayer’. An amendment providing for the appointment of a chaplain for the purpose was withdrawn, as it was agreed that the Speaker was the most appropriate person to read Prayers in the House.¹⁰⁵ The standing order was amended in 1918 when the initial Prayer or preface was amended and an additional Prayer was added before the Lord’s Prayer for the duration of the war.¹⁰⁶ In its report of 21 March 1972 the Standing Orders Committee considered a submission from a Member which suggested a different form of Prayer, and that Prayers once a week would suffice. The committee agreed that there should be no change either in the frequency of offering Prayers or in their content.¹⁰⁷ When the Procedure Committee reviewed the standing orders in 2002–2003, partly with a view to modernising their language, the committee made no recommendation in relation to the Prayers, and the revised standing orders adopted in November 2004 retained the original wording.

Prayers are not read at the start of proceedings in the Main Committee, which is a subsidiary body. However, the timing of its meetings allows sufficient time for Members to attend Prayers in the House.

Order of Business

Following the meeting of the House and the reading of Prayers the House proceeds each day to its ordinary order of business as set down in standing order 34, as amended from time to time by sessional orders.¹⁰⁸ Under current standing orders the House proceeds with business in the following order:

• Monday
• Committee and delegation reports.
• Private Members’ business (debate interrupted).
• Members’ statements (at 1.45 p.m.).
• Question Time (at 2 p.m.).
• Presentation of petitions.
• Private Members’ business (in continuation for 1 hour).
• Grievance debate (1 hour 20 minutes).
• Government business.
• Adjournment debate.
• Tuesday
• Question Time (at 2 p.m.).
• Presentation of documents.
• Ministerial statements (by leave).
• Matter of public importance.
• Government business.
• Adjournment debate.
• Wednesday and Thursday
• Government business.
• Question Time (at 2 p.m.).
• Presentation of documents.
• Ministerial statements (by leave).
• Matter of public importance.
• Government business.
• Adjournment debate.

House of Representatives order of business

(operating from February 2003)

Order of business on Mondays

The arrangements for the presentation and consideration of reports from committees and delegations, private Members’ business, Members’ statements and grievance debate are described in detail in the Chapter on ‘Non-government business’; the presentation of petitions is covered in the Chapter on ‘Documents’.

Motions to set or vary the order of business

If, for a particular day, it is desired to vary the order of business provided by standing order 34—for example, to change the sequence or change a specified time—a motion is moved (usually by leave, or on notice) to suspend standing orders to provide for the change.¹⁰⁹

If the House is to meet on a day not provided for in standing order 34—that is, on a Friday (or possibly on a Saturday), or if for a particular day it is desired to replace completely the normal order of business set down by standing order 34, a motion may be moved to suspend standing orders to set the order for that day.¹¹⁰ If a change to the time or day of meeting is involved, provision for the new time of meeting and the proposed order of business for the day may be included in the one motion.¹¹¹ When such a motion has been agreed to, it is not in order to move a further suspension of standing orders to vary the order of business which has just been agreed to.¹¹²

When a sitting continues over more than one day, the business of the initial day continues (i.e. continuation of government business)¹¹³ unless a variation is agreed to.

Ordinary order of business

Government business

Notices and orders of the day

Most of the time of the House is taken up with government notices and orders of the day. The term ‘notices’ refers to new items of business on the Notice Paper—that is, advice of motions to be moved or bills to be presented. ‘Orders of the day’ are items of business the House has ordered to be considered (or further considered) on a particular day.¹¹⁴

Notices and orders of the day have precedence of each other according to the order in which the Government has determined that they should be placed on the Notice Paper.¹¹⁵ As each item is disposed of (or adjourned for future consideration) the Clerk calls on the next item in the order in which it appears on the Notice Paper. Other business may be interspersed between items on the Notice Paper when, for example, appropriation and supply bills, and bills and proposals dealing with taxation, are introduced. These bills and proposals may be brought in by a Minister without notice.¹¹⁶ Although they do not appear on the Notice Paper, they would normally be included in the Daily Program at a point which reflects the wishes of the Government.

After the Speaker calls on the business of the day, the Clerk announces the first notice or order of the day. As each notice is called on, the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary responsible moves the motion for which notice has been given or presents the bill for which notice of presentation has been given. Upon an order of the day being read by the Clerk the Speaker calls the next Member to speak, giving priority to the Member who previously moved the adjournment of the debate or the Member who was speaking when the debate was previously interrupted and who is thus entitled to pre-audience. In most cases debate continues on an item of business until it is finally disposed of by the House, but on some occasions a debate, particularly a lengthy debate, may be interrupted and adjourned to enable other business to be dealt with.

Determination of precedence

Government business takes precedence over all other business except for those times when, under standing or sessional orders, private Members’ business (before 1988 known as general business) and other non-government business has precedence (see Chapter on ‘Non-government business’). In recent years approximately 60 per cent of the time of the House has been taken up by government business.

The Leader of the House can arrange the order of government notices and orders of the day on the Notice Paper as he or she thinks fit.¹¹⁷ The Selection Committee determines the order of precedence of private Members’ business.

Postponement of notices and orders of the day–re-arrangement of items of business

The order in which items of business are taken in the House is determined by the order of the notices and orders of the day on the Notice Paper. Variation of the predetermined order is generally achieved by the selective postponement of items of business. The day for moving a notice of motion or a notice of intention to present a bill may be changed or the notice postponed:

• by the Member who gave notice moving a motion without notice to postpone the motion;¹¹⁸
• by the Member who gave notice changing the day proposed for moving the motion to a later day by notifying the Clerk in writing before the motion is called on;¹¹⁹
• by the Member who gave the notice setting a future time for moving the motion when the notice is called on;¹²⁰ or
• by another Member, at the Member’s request, setting a future time for moving the motion.¹²¹

The practice of the House is that one Minister may act for another and, accordingly, a Minister may move the postponement of a notice given by another Minister.

An order of the day may be postponed on motion without notice moved by the Member in charge of the order or, in the Member’s absence, by another Member at the Member’s request.¹²² The Member in charge is the Member who moved the motion or presented the bill. As with a notice the practice of the House is that one Minister may act for another Minister in moving for the postponement of an order of the day. The motion should be moved before the order is called on.¹²³

A private Member cannot move to vary the order of government business in the House,¹²⁴ nor can he or she move an amendment to a postponement motion which would have the effect of varying the order of government business.¹²⁵ An amendment expressing a no confidence in the Prime Minister has been moved to a postponement motion.¹²⁶

A Minister may not move for the postponement of any item of private Members’ business. The House has, by arrangement, agreed to a government motion to postpone general business until after certain government business.¹²⁷ It was not uncommon, under the arrangements in force until 1988, for the Government to move that government business take precedence of general business until the main appropriation bills had passed all stages in the House.¹²⁸ Standing orders have been suspended on the motion of a Minister to enable a particular private Member’s business item to be called on during time when government business would normally be considered,¹²⁹ and to make alternative arrangements for private Members’ business.¹³⁰

Postponement of an order of the day may be until a later hour of the day, until the next sitting or until a specified day. Consideration of an order of the day has been postponed until certain bills, which were themselves orders of the day, had become law.¹³¹

Member absent or failing ot rise when notice called on

A motion not moved when called on is withdrawn from the Notice Paper unless the Member who gave notice, or another Member at his or her request, sets (by orally informing the House) a future time for moving the motion.¹³²

Discharge of orders of the day

An order of the day remains in the possession of the House and remains on the Notice Paper until the House disposes of it or a motion for its discharge is agreed to. On an order of the day being read, it may, on motion without notice moved by the Member in charge of it, be discharged.¹³³ In the case of government orders of the day a motion for discharge may be moved by any Minister.¹³⁴ In 1972 Speaker Aston ruled privately that a motion to discharge an order of the day must be moved immediately the order is read and there can be no debate on the order of the day after the order is read and a motion moved for its discharge.

Orders of the day may also be discharged by motion moved pursuant to notice¹³⁵ or by leave.¹³⁶ Generally, such motions encompass multiple orders of the day, and are moved periodically to clear the Notice Paper of items of government business (mostly motions to take note of documents) on which no further debate is required. Less frequently, an individual item of business may be discharged—for example, when the Government has decided not to proceed with a bill.¹³⁷ Under standing order 42 private Members’ notices and orders of the day not called on within eight sitting weeks are automatically dropped from the Notice Paper.

Notices and orders of the day not called on

At the adjournment of the House each day any notices or orders of the day which have not been called on are set down on the Notice Paper for the next sitting, after any notices or orders of the day set down for that day.¹³⁸ These provisions operate subject to standing order 45 which provides that the Leader of the House can arrange the order of government notices and orders of the day on the Notice Paper as he or she thinks fit. Standing order 41 gives a similar power to the Selection Committee in respect of private Members’ notices and orders of the day (see Chapter on ‘Non-government business’).

Question Time

Although Question Time is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., other matters sometimes intervene before the Speaker calls for questions without notice—for example, ministerial arrangements may be announced, the deaths of former Members may be reported or condolence motions may be moved, valedictory remarks made,¹³⁹ or the consideration of a bill completed.¹⁴⁰ Standing orders have been suspended to alter the time.¹⁴¹

The length of time the House devotes to Question Time is controlled by the Government.¹⁴² The Prime Minister or the senior Minister present determines the time for questions to conclude by asking that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper,¹⁴³ and may do so even if a Member is in the process of asking a question or has received the call to ask a question.¹⁴⁴ It has become the established practice for Governments to allow at least 45 minutes each day for questions without notice.¹⁴⁵ In recent years periods of one hour or longer have been common (the number of questions tending to be the benchmark). After Question Time has concluded, a Minister may wish:

• to provide information which has come to hand in relation to a question asked earlier;¹⁴⁶
• to provide additional information in respect of an answer given earlier; or
• to correct an answer given earlier.

It is within the province of the Chair to grant indulgence for this to be done.

Questions without notice, having been called on by the Chair, may not be proceeded with if the Prime Minister or a Minister in charge of arrangements¹⁴⁷ immediately asks that they be placed on notice. This may happen on occasions when the time of the House has been taken up by another matter, for example, when debate on a no confidence or censure motion has been given precedence.¹⁴⁸

For more detail on Question Time procedures see Chapter on ‘Questions’.

Presentation of documents

The presentation of documents follows Question Time. Documents may be presented by Ministers or the Speaker, pursuant to statute or otherwise, or by order of the House.¹⁴⁹ Formerly documents were presented individually, but arrangements introduced in 1988¹⁵⁰ have permitted the presentation of documents together. The arrangements for this are:

• by 12 noon on the day of presentation a schedule of documents to be presented is made available to the Manager of Opposition Business and later circulated to all Members in the Chamber;
• following questions without notice a Minister presents the documents as listed on the schedule;
• documents so listed are recorded in the Votes and Proceedings and Hansard;
• if a schedule has not been circulated, or if documents have not been included on the schedule, the documents in question must be presented individually; and
• if a statement is to be made or a motion moved in relation to a document, a Minister may present the document separately.

There may be other business arising out of the presentation of a document, such as motions to take note of the document or to make it a Parliamentary Paper. The motion ‘That the House take note of the document’ is used as a device to enable a document to be debated, either at the time it is presented or, more usually, at a later sitting. The selection of documents for debate is agreed on between the Opposition and the Government prior to presentation. The practice since May 1993¹⁵¹ has been for a single motion to be moved to take note of (the selected) documents presented. The motion is moved by the Minister presenting the documents listed on the schedule, normally the Leader of the House. The resumption of debate on the motion to take note of each of the documents is then made a separate order of the day on the Notice Paper.

For documents presented at other times see page 258, and see Chapter on ‘Documents’.

Ministerial statements (by leave)

By leave of the House Ministers may make statements concerning government policy or other matters for which they have ministerial responsibility. Ministerial statements are often made after the presentation of documents, however they may also be made at other times. An opposition spokesperson is usually granted leave to make a statement on the same matter or a motion may be moved ‘That the House take note of the document’, on which debate may take place either at that time, at a later hour or at a later sitting.¹⁵² On occasions leave has not been sought by the Government¹⁵³ or has been refused by the Opposition¹⁵⁴ and standing orders have been suspended to enable a statement to be made. Ministerial statements are not an everyday occurrence and their frequency has decreased in recent years.

For further detail, including comment on the need for leave, see ‘Statements by leave’ in Chapter on ‘Control and conduct of debate’.’

Matter of public importance

If a proposed matter of public importance has been given in a written statement to the Speaker and determined to be in order, the Speaker reads the statement to the House. If the matter is supported by eight Members, discussion ensues.¹⁵⁵ The discussion may be terminated at any stage by the House agreeing to the motion, moved by any Member, ‘That the business of the day be called on’. The time for discussion is limited to two hours,¹⁵⁶ but the time taken is usually much less, by agreement between the parties.¹⁵⁷

For further information see Chapter on ‘Non-government business’.

Matters accorded precedence

The ordinary order of business may be superseded by matters which are accorded precedence by practice or pursuant to the standing orders, or by other matters which may intervene or interrupt proceedings.

Censure or no confidence motions and amendments

A motion of which notice has been given or an amendment which expresses a censure of or no confidence in the Government takes precedence of all other business until disposed of by the House and additional speaking time is provided, if it is accepted by a Minister as a censure or no confidence motion or amendment under standing order 48.

This form of motion has been accepted immediately after the notice has been given openly (when notices could be given openly)¹⁵⁸ or immediately after the notice has been reported to the House by the Clerk.¹⁵⁹ In these circumstances it is necessary to suspend standing orders or secure leave to enable the motion to be moved immediately. A no confidence amendment has been similarly accepted immediately it has been moved.¹⁶⁰ If it is not accepted by a Minister for the purposes of standing order 48, a notice of a no confidence motion does not attract any automatic precedence and is placed on the Notice Paper under private Members’ business. However, even if it is not accepted by a Minister for the purposes of standing order 48, action may still be taken to bring the debate on early (in which case the normal time limits for a motion apply).¹⁶¹ The notice may also be granted precedence on a later day when accepted by a Minister.¹⁶²

For many years it was the practice of the House to adjourn until the next sitting following notice of a no confidence motion. This practice has not been followed since 1947.¹⁶³

The House has considered other business before a censure or no confidence motion or amendment has been finally disposed of. In 1949 standing orders were suspended to enable a censure motion to take precedence of all other business until disposed of. The censure motion was then debated and adjourned to the next sitting. Prior to the resumption of the debate on the next sitting day, several items of business were dealt with including petitions, questions without notice, statements by leave, and the introduction of bills.¹⁶⁴ However, if it is the wish of the House to proceed with some of the normal order of business, such as questions without notice, petitions and other items of business, as in the above circumstances, it would be preferable to suspend standing orders to enable this to be done. This course was followed in 1961,¹⁶⁵ although the Speaker questioned whether other business should intervene during a no confidence debate.¹⁶⁶

An amendment censuring the Government¹⁶⁷ and motions censuring or expressing no confidence in the Government¹⁶⁸ have been granted precedence following suspension of the standing orders, even though they were not accepted by a Minister under standing order 48. In these cases the normal time limits apply.

Standing orders have been suspended to allow a motion of censure of a Minister, which does not attract any precedence, to be moved forthwith¹⁶⁹ and to be moved forthwith and to take precedence.¹⁷⁰ Such motions have also been moved without notice and debated immediately by leave.¹⁷¹

For a more detailed account see ‘Motions of no confidence or censure’ in Chapter on ‘Motions’.

Matters of privilege

A Member may rise at any time to speak on a matter of privilege suddenly arising.¹⁷² Until a matter of privilege is disposed of (for example, by the Speaker giving a decision immediately or stating that the matter will be considered), or unless debate on a motion arising from a matter is adjourned, it suspends the consideration and decision of every other question. However, precedence over other business is not given to any motion if, in the opinion of the Speaker, a prima facie case of breach of privilege has not been made out or the matter has not been raised at the earliest opportunity.¹⁷³

When consideration of a substantive motion on a matter of privilege or a report from the Committee of Privileges is made an order of the day, the practice is to place it on the Notice Paper with a note ‘to take precedence’. If it is not desired to consider the motion or report as the first item of business, a positive motion to postpone the order is necessary.¹⁷⁴ It has been the practice of the House to proceed with the ordinary order of business up to, but not including, ‘Government business’ before a privilege motion or report is considered.

For further information see Chapter on ‘Privilege’.

Motions of thanks or condolence

Precedence is ordinarily given, by courtesy, to a motion of thanks of the House or to a motion of condolence.¹⁷⁵ The practice of the House is that condolence motions or references to the deaths of certain persons are normally dealt with immediately following Prayers or at 2 p.m.,¹⁷⁶ after which the ordinary order of business may be proceeded with. However, following a condolence motion the House may be adjourned, or suspended to a fixed hour, as a mark of respect. If the House has been suspended, the ordinary order of business may be proceeded with on the resumption of the sitting.¹⁷⁷

For further information see ‘Motion of condolence’ and ‘Motion of thanks’ in Chapter on ‘Motions’.

Motions for leave of absence to a Member

A motion to grant leave of absence to a Member can be moved without notice and has priority over all other business.¹⁷⁸ The motion is usually moved after presentation of documents.

Announcements of ministerial arrangements

The Prime Minister from time to time informs the House of changes in the Ministry, of the absence or illness of Ministers, of any acting and representational arrangements that are made within the Ministry, and of changes in departmental and administrative arrangements. It is the practice for such an announcement to be made before questions without notice to assist Members in directing their questions. If the Prime Minister is not present the senior Minister present makes the announcement.¹⁷⁹

Swearing-in of Members and announcements of returns to writs

Every Member of the House must make an oath or affirmation of allegiance before taking his or her seat.¹⁸⁰ Any Member absent at the opening of a Parliament is sworn in at the first opportunity.¹⁸¹ On the election of a Member at a by-election the Speaker may announce the return to the writ immediately after Prayers, the new Member then being introduced and sworn in,¹⁸² although on occasions the new Member has been sworn in just before Question Time.¹⁸³

Other matters that can interrupt the ordinary order of business

Personal explanations

With the leave of the Chair, a Member may explain how he or she has been misrepresented or another matter of a personal nature.¹⁸⁴ The usual practice is for a Member desiring to make a personal explanation to inform the Speaker and for the Speaker to call on the Member at a convenient time after Question Time. This does not prevent Members making personal explanations at other times, subject to the overall authority of the Speaker, but such a course is not encouraged.¹⁸⁵

For more detail see ‘Misrepresentation’ and ‘Personal explanations’ in Chapter on ‘Control and conduct of debate’.

Acknowledgment and admission of distinguished visitors

The Speaker may acknowledge the presence of distinguished visitors in the gallery and, with the implied concurrence of the House, distinguished visitors have on occasion been admitted to a seat on the floor of the House.¹⁸⁶ This action has been taken by the Speaker immediately after Prayers but it can occur at any time during a day’s proceedings. It is most common for distinguished visitors to be present during questions without notice.

Announcements and statements by the Speaker

The Speaker may be called upon to make a number of announcements during the course of a day’s proceedings. These include messages from the Governor-General¹⁸⁷ notifying assent to bills and messages from the Senate. When such details are available prior to the meeting of the House, the announcements may be held until after the presentation of documents. When they become available later during the course of the sitting, they may be announced between items of business. The Speaker also makes statements to the House, for example, on matters of parliamentary administration; these are made between items of business¹⁸⁸ or occasionally at another time convenient to the Speaker.¹⁸⁹

Committee reports and documents

Although the normal order of business provides for a fixed period each sitting week for the presentation and debate of reports of parliamentary committees,¹⁹⁰ the standing orders also permit committee reports to be presented at any time when other business is not before the House.¹⁹¹ When reports are presented in this way (that is, outside the allocated period), leave of the House must be obtained for a Member to make a statement on the report at the time of presentation, or to move a motion in connection with it (usually ‘That the House take note of the document’).

Ministers may present documents at any time when other business is not before the House. Leave is required to present a document during a speech,¹⁹² although supplementary explanatory memorandums have been presented during the course of speeches. Leave is not required for a Minister to present a document during Question Time, when making a personal explanation or when making a ministerial statement. An exception is a document relating to public affairs quoted from by a Minister in the course of a speech which must be presented, if requested by any Member, unless the Minister states it to be of a confidential nature.¹⁹³

See also Chapter on ‘Documents’.

Matter of special interest

At any time when other business is not before the House a Minister may indicate to the House that it is proposed to discuss a matter of special interest on which it is not desired to move a specific motion.¹⁹⁴ A matter of special interest has been discussed by the House on only one occasion when it was discussed early in the order of business prior to the giving of notices.¹⁹⁵

For more detail see ‘Motion to discuss matter of special interest’ in Chapter on ‘Motions’.

Suspension of standing orders

It is not unusual in the functioning of the House for it to be found necessary to suspend standing orders, or a particular standing order, to permit certain action to be taken. Common instances are to grant unlimited or extended time for particular speeches, to permit the introduction of particular bills without notice and their passage without delay, the consideration of certain bills together, to enable censure or other motions to be moved, and to enable the introduction of new business after 9.30 p.m. The suspension of standing orders may also affect the ordinary order of business, for example, when it is to enable an item of private Members’ business to be called on in other than the normal order, or to allow a notice of motion to be called on immediately, the notice having been given for the next sitting.

Having received the call from the Chair, a motion to suspend standing orders may be moved by any Member without notice, but to be passed it must be carried by an absolute majority of all Members¹⁹⁶ (76 votes in a House of 150 Members). If the motion is moved pursuant to notice, pursuant to contingent notice, or with the leave of the House, it may be carried by a simple majority of Members present. A motion for the suspension of standing orders may only be moved if the substance of the motion is relevant to the item of business before the House, or, alternatively, when there is no business before the House, that is, between items of business.¹⁹⁷

For further information see ‘Motion to suspend standing or sessional orders’ in Chapter on ‘Motions’.

Points of order

Any Member may raise a point of order at any time which, until disposed of, suspends the consideration and decision of every other question. A point of order may lead to a ruling being given by the Chair which may be objected to and a motion of dissent moved. A motion of dissent must be debated and determined immediately.¹⁹⁸

For more detailed discussion see ‘Speakers rulings’ in Chapter on ‘The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers’.

Disorder

The proceedings of the House may also be interrupted by disorder arising in the House or in the galleries. In the case of grave disorder arising, the Speaker may adjourn the House or suspend the sitting until a time to be named.¹⁹⁹

Absence of a Minister

There is a convention that a Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary) should be present in the Chamber at all times, and in practice Governments maintain a roster of ‘Duty Ministers’. It is of course desirable from the Government’s point of view, and expected by Members, that there should be a Member present able to react with authority on behalf of the Government to any unexpected development. There is obviously a need for a government representative to be ‘in charge of’ items of government business. However, even when other matters are before the House—for example, during private Members’ business, or adjournment or grievance debates—it is expected that a member of the Government will be available to take note of or to respond to matters raised. A short absence of a Minister may go unremarked, but sometimes a point of order will be taken and the Chair’s attention drawn to the situation.²⁰⁰ In such circumstances the Chair has sometimes intervened on his or her own initiative²⁰¹—for example, by asking a government whip to fetch a Minister—and on one occasion has even had the bells rung to secure a Minister’s attendance.²⁰²

There is not a similar requirement for an opposition frontbencher to be present, although this does facilitate the business of the House and is desirable from the Opposition’s point of view. In practice a roster is maintained.

New business rule

Standing order 33 provides that no new business may be taken after 9.30 p.m. (the normal time of adjournment) unless the House otherwise orders. New business was defined by Speaker Johnson as a proposal relating to a matter not before the House.²⁰³

The following points are relevant to an understanding of the rule:

• as a general rule the only business which the House should proceed with after 9.30 p.m. is the matter which is immediately before the House or business of a formal nature;
• the rule has a purpose in protecting the minorities in the House from the introduction, perhaps by surprise late in a sitting, of new business upon which a vote may be taken;
• in cases of urgency or necessity the House may determine, prior to 9.30 p.m., that new business be taken after 9.30 p.m., by suspending the standing order; and
• since the introduction of the automatic adjournment provisions in 1973 (see p. 263) the rule has rarely had to be applied, as sittings of the House after the normal time of adjournment have been comparatively infrequent.

The following business, on which the House does not have to make a decision of substance, may be transacted after 9.30 p.m. without infringing the rule:

• a message from the Senate agreeing to a bill without amendment or requests may be announced by the Speaker;²⁰⁴
• a message from the Senate returning a bill with amendments may be reported and an order agreed to consider the amendments at the next sitting;²⁰⁵
• a message from the Senate forwarding a bill for the concurrence of the House may be announced by the Speaker and the bill read a first time; the second reading must be made an order of the day for the next sitting²⁰⁶ and no debate on that motion is permitted;²⁰⁷
• a Minister may provide information, or additional information, in response to a question;²⁰⁸ and
• a statement may be made by the Speaker.²⁰⁹

A motion to suspend standing orders moved after 9.30 p.m. in relation to a matter which is before the House—for example, to enable the remaining stages of a bill to be passed without delay—is not regarded as new business.²¹⁰

The House on occasions suspends the new business rule (sometimes together with standing order 31—automatic adjournment) to enable new business to be taken after 9.30 p.m.²¹¹ In order that the motion to suspend the standing order is not itself classed as new business, the motion must be moved before 9.30 p.m. Although the standing order has been suspended after the specified time with the concurrence of an absolute majority²¹² and the motion has been moved after the specified time by leave of the House,²¹³ Speaker Mackay stated the correct procedure to be followed:

It would be well, however, that the Government, being in charge of the business of the House, should realise that a motion to suspend the Standing Orders is, in itself, ‘new business’ in a strict reading of the Standing Order.²¹⁴

When a cognate debate is before the House at 9.30 p.m., bills in respect of which questions have not yet been put from the Chair—that is, the second or subsequent bills of the group—have been treated as constituting new business for the purpose of the standing order (even though debate on them may have already occurred) and the new business rule has been suspended. This may not be strictly necessary, having regard to Speaker Johnson’s view and bearing in mind that the House has agreed that debate on the second reading of such bills should be taken together, although this is considered the better course.

Prior to February 2003 the time specified in standing orders was 11 p.m.,²¹⁵ apart from 1994–5 when it was 8 p.m. (in each case the normal time of adjournment).

In 1931 the Speaker was questioned, during a division on a motion to suspend the new business rule, as to whether the vote would be effective if not completed before the specified time (then 11 p.m.). The Speaker replied that, as Members had crossed the floor and tellers had been appointed before 11 p.m., the vote was to be regarded as having taken place within the specified time.²¹⁶

Adjournment

Standing orders provisions

The termination of a sitting is known as the adjournment. With certain exceptions the House can only be adjourned by its own resolution following either a motion moved by a Minister²¹⁷ or the Speaker automatically proposing the question ‘That the House do now adjourn’ pursuant to standing order 31. Matters irrelevant to the question may be debated, thus providing a valued opportunity for private Members to raise matters of concern to them.²¹⁸ For discussion of the ‘adjournment debate’ see Chapter on ‘Non-government business’.

The Speaker may adjourn the House to the next sitting without putting the question under the following circumstances:

• lack of a quorum (S.O. 57); and
• grave disorder²¹⁹ (S.O. 95).

A further exception relates to the situation when the House is informed by the Clerk of the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker. If the House does not proceed immediately to elect a Member to perform the duties of the Speaker, the House stands adjourned until the next sitting.²²⁰

Motion moved by a Minister

The motion ‘That the House do now adjourn’ can be moved only by a Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary) and no amendment can be moved to it.²²¹ The motion cannot be moved while another question is before the Chair.²²² The motion may be debated without limitation of time, subject to the closure and the automatic adjournment provisions. Debate on the motion cannot be adjourned.

As with other motions the reply of the mover closes the debate.²²³ The mover has again addressed the House, by leave, without closing the debate.²²⁴ After the mover has spoken in reply, individual Members have addressed the House, by leave,²²⁵ and standing orders have been suspended to enable the debate to continue.²²⁶ Also, during the course of the debate, the mover has made a statement, by leave, and later has spoken in reply.²²⁷

The motion for the adjournment has been withdrawn, by leave, to allow the presentation of a committee report,²²⁸ and to allow a motion for the alteration of the hour of next meeting to be moved.²²⁹ In 1959 the motion was moved immediately after questions without notice and debated while the House awaited certain legislation from the Senate. When the legislation had not arrived some four hours later, the motion was withdrawn, by leave, and a motion granting leave of absence to all Members and a special adjournment motion were agreed to. A further adjournment motion was then moved and agreed to.²³⁰ In a similar situations in more recent years the adjournment was moved early and debated for some time after standing orders had been suspended, by leave, to enable Members to speak for a specified period (one period of 10 minutes). This motion was then negatived on the receipt of awaited Senate messages. After consideration of the legislation concerned a second adjournment motion was moved and agreed to.²³¹

Automatic adjournment

Standing order 31 provides that at 9 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesdays and at 4.30 p.m. on Thursdays, the Speaker shall propose the question ‘That the House do now adjourn’. The question is open to debate but no amendment can be moved to it.

Other provisions relating to the automatic adjournment are:

• If a division is in progress at the time fixed for interruption, that division and any division consequent on that division are completed and the result announced.
• If, on the question ‘That the House do now adjourn’ being proposed, a Minister requires the question to be put immediately without debate, the Speaker puts the question immediately. This provision provides the House with an opportunity to negative the adjournment in order to continue with the business before the House.
• If the question ‘That the House do now adjourn’ is negatived, the House resumes its proceedings at the point at which they were interrupted.
• The business under discussion and not disposed of at the time of the automatic adjournment is set down on the Notice Paper for the next sitting.

The question has arisen of the situation of a Member who is making a statement, by leave, at the time of interruption. Leave of the House does not over-ride the provision in the standing orders for the automatic adjournment, and the adjournment motion must be proposed at the specified time. If the motion is negatived, the Member can then continue his or her remarks,²³² but not otherwise.²³³ The same applies if standing orders are suspended to enable a Member to make a statement. Unless standing order 31 has been specifically suspended, the statement is interrupted at the specified time and the Member is only able to continue if the adjournment motion is negatived. A Member raising a matter of privilege at the time of interruption has been in a similar situation—his or her speech was interrupted and then resumed on the adjournment question being put immediately and negatived.²³⁴

The making of a statement by leave or a Member speaking to a matter of public importance do not fall within the meaning of business under standing order 31. As there is no question before the House, these items cannot be set down on the Notice Paper for the next sitting.

If a motion, such a motion to suspend standing orders, is being moved, or has been moved but has not yet been seconded (where necessary) at the time of interruption, the question has not been proposed from the Chair. If the adjournment is not negatived at this point, the motion is not in the possession of the House, and it is therefore dropped and cannot appear on the Notice Paper (see ‘Motion dropped’ in Chapter on ‘Motions’).

Standing and sessional orders have been suspended, by leave, to enable the debate to extend beyond the normal time,²³⁵ or to a specified time.²³⁶

Adjournment of the House

If, at 9.30 p.m. (8 p.m. on Wednesdays, 5 p.m. on Thursdays) the question before the House is ‘That the House do now adjourn’, the Speaker interrupts the debate at which time:

• a Minister may require that the debate be extended until 9.40 p.m. (8.10 p.m., 5.10 p.m.) to enable Ministers to speak in reply to matters raised in the preceding adjournment debate; at 9.40 p.m. (8.10 p.m., 5.10 p.m.) or upon the earlier cessation of the debate, the Speaker immediately adjourns the House until the time of its next meeting; or
• if no action is taken by a Minister to extend the debate, the Speaker immediately adjourns the House until the time of its next meeting.

This does not prevent a Minister from replying before the Speaker interrupts the debate, provided that no other Member rises to obtain the call.²³⁷ If a Minister starts to reply before that time, the debate is still interrupted at the time of the automatic adjournment when the Minister may require the debate to be extended.

If all the business of the day is concluded before the time at which the question to adjourn would be automatically proposed, the adjournment motion is moved by a Minister immediately. Debate may continue until the provisions of standing order 31, relating to the extension of the debate by a Minister or the immediate adjournment of the House, apply.

If the adjournment motion or question is negatived when first proposed and the business of the day does not conclude within 30 minutes—that is, by the ‘standard’ time for the adjournment of the House—a Minister moves the adjournment motion at the conclusion of ordinary business and debate may ensue without any limitation of time.

When the question ‘That the House do now adjourn’ has been agreed to, or when the time for debate has expired or the debate ceases, the sitting formally concludes and the Speaker adjourns the House until the time of its next meeting, either in accordance with standing order 29 or a resolution of the House agreed to under standing order 30.

On 29 August 2004, under the authority of the then standing order permitting the Speaker to fix an alternative day or hour of meeting when the House has adjourned for a routine two week break, the Speaker fixed the time of ‘the ringing of the bells’ as the time for the next meeting, instead of the regular time of 12.30 p.m. the following day, 30 August. This action was in response to a request from the Prime Minister, who had advised the Speaker that the Governor-General had accepted his recommendation that Parliament be prorogued and the House dissolved on 31 August. Members were advised of the Speaker’s decision, the prorogation and dissolution proceeded as stated and the sittings did not resume.

The Speaker has been prevented from formally announcing the time of next meeting by the disorderly conduct of a Member.²³⁸ Until such time as the Speaker leaves the Chamber he or she is still in charge of the House and in control of proceedings.²³⁹

Adjournment of the House for special reasons

The House has adjourned as a mark of respect on the death of a Prime Minister,²⁴⁰ a former Prime Minister,²⁴¹ a reigning Monarch,²⁴² a Queen,²⁴³ the Governor-General,²⁴⁴ a former Speaker,²⁴⁵and others.²⁴⁶ The House has also adjourned following the giving of a notice of a no confidence motion, the last occasion being in 1947.²⁴⁷ On four occasions the Chair has adjourned the House until the next sitting when grave disorder has occurred.²⁴⁸

Meeting and adjournment of the Main Committee

All Members are members of the Main Committee.²⁴⁹ Although the Committee is permitted to meet at any time during a sitting of the House²⁵⁰ (including during a suspension of the House), in practice it does not meet during Question Time or at other times when all or most Members’ presence might be expected in the Chamber.

The Committee is adjourned on the completion of the consideration of all matters referred to it by the House, upon the adjournment of the House, or by motion moved without notice by any Member.²⁵¹ For discussion of the ‘adjournment debate’ in the Main Committee see Chapter on ‘Non-government business’. In case of a lack of quorum the Chair may adjourn the Committee or suspend proceedings until a stated time.²⁵² Proceedings are also adjourned or suspended in cases of disorder (at the initiative of the Chair or on motion without notice by any Member)²⁵³ and suspended for the duration of any division occurring in the House.²⁵⁴ Following any suspension or adjournment of the Main Committee, the Committee may resume proceedings at the point at which they were interrupted.²⁵⁵

On the adjournment of the Committee the Deputy Speaker announces the Committee to be adjourned to a stated day and time, or until a time to be fixed. In the latter case the time of the next meeting fixed by the Deputy Speaker is announced in a statement in the House.