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House of Representatives Standing and Sessional Orders

As at 12 March 2008

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Chapter 14. Main Committee

Chapter outline

This chapter establishes the Main Committee and provides for:

  • the Chair and administration in the Committee
  • meetings and adjournments, and
  • the Committee’s business.

General

183    Appointment of Main Committee

The Main Committee shall be established to consider matters referred to it by the House as follows:

  1. proceedings on bills to the completion of the consideration in detail stage; and
  2. orders of the day for the resumption of debate on any motion.

184    Membership and quorum of Main Committee

  1. All Members shall be members of the Main Committee.
  2. The quorum of the Committee is the Deputy Speaker, one government Member and one non-government Member.

185    Rules for House apply to Main Committee

The rules applying to the House also apply to the Main Committee, subject to the standing orders in this chapter: see standing order 3 (application of the standing orders).

186    Deputy Speaker and meetings of Main Committee

The Main Committee may meet at any time during a sitting of the House, except as provided by standing order 190 (suspensions and adjournments of the Main Committee). The Deputy Speaker must set the meeting times of the Committee, notify the times to all Members, and take the Chair when the Committee meets.

187    Maintenance of order

  1. In the Main Committee the Deputy Speaker has the same responsibility for the preservation of order as the Speaker has in the House.
  2. If disorder occurs in the Committee, the Deputy Speaker:
    1. may direct the Member or Members concerned to leave the room for a period of 15 minutes [standing order 94(e) (exclusion from Chamber, etc.) does not apply]; or
    2. may, or on motion moved without notice by any Member must, suspend or adjourn the sitting. If the sitting is adjourned, any business under discussion and not disposed of at the time of the adjournment shall be set down on the Notice Paper for the next sitting.
  3. Following a suspension or adjournment of the Committee or a refusal of a Member to leave when so directed under paragraph (b), the Deputy Speaker must report the disorder to the House.
  4. The Deputy Speaker may report the conduct of a Member whether or not action has been taken under paragraph (b).
  5. Any subsequent action against a Member under standing order 94 (sanctions against disorderly conduct) may only be taken in the House.

188    How questions decided

  1. Every question in the Main Committee shall be decided on the voices and the result shall be announced by the Deputy Speaker.
  2. If a Member dissents from the announced result, the question is unresolved. An unresolved question shall be recorded in the minutes, reported to the House and if related to a bill or order of the day, included in a schedule attached to the Committee’s report to the House.

189    Minutes recorded by Clerk of Committee

The Clerk of the Committee shall record the proceedings of the Main Committee as the Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee. The minutes shall form part of the Votes and Proceedings of the House for that sitting.

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Suspension and adjournment of Main Committee

190    General rules for suspensions and adjournments of the Main Committee

The following general rules apply to meetings of the Main Committee:

  1. The Deputy Speaker must suspend proceedings in the Committee to enable Members to attend divisions in the House.
  2. If a quorum is not present the Deputy Speaker must immediately suspend proceedings until a stated time, or adjourn the Committee.
  3. If the House adjourns, the Deputy Speaker must interrupt the business before the Committee and immediately adjourn the Committee.
  4. The Committee need not adjourn between items of business, nor during a suspension of the House.
  5. The Committee shall stand adjourned on completion of all matters referred to it, or may be adjourned on motion moved without notice by any Member—

    That the Committee do now adjourn.

  6. No amendment may be moved to the question.

191    Adjournment debate in Main Committee

  1. The question That the Committee do now adjourn may be debated, but no amendment may be moved to the question.
  2. The following qualifications apply:

    3. Member may require question to be put

    1. If a Member requires the question for adjournment to be put immediately it is proposed, the Deputy Speaker must put the question immediately and without debate.

    Minister may extend debate

    1. At the conclusion of the debate a Minister may ask for the debate to be extended by 10 minutes to enable Ministers to speak in reply to matters raised in the debate. After 10 minutes, or if debate concludes earlier, the Deputy Speaker shall immediately adjourn the Committee.

    Unfinished business

    1. If the business being discussed is not disposed of when adjournment is proposed, the business shall be listed on the Notice Paper for the next sitting.

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Main Committee business

192    Main Committee’s order of business

  1. If the Committee meets on a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, the normal order of business is set out in figure 4.
  2. If the Committee meets on a Monday to consider orders of the day relating to committee and delegation reports, these orders of the day shall have priority over other business, unless otherwise ordered.

    Figure 4. Main Committee order of business

    Main Committee order of business

192A    Members’ statements on Mondays

Before committee and delegation reports and private Members' business on Mondays, the Deputy Speaker shall call on statements by Members. The Deputy Speaker may call a Member, but not a Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary*), to make a statement for no longer than 90 seconds. The period allowed for these statements shall extend until 6.55 pm.

192B    Grievance debate

  1. At the conclusion of committee and delegation reports and private Members’ business on Mondays, the first order of the day shall be grievance debate. The order of the day stands referred to the Main Committee.
  2. After the Deputy Speaker proposes the question—

    That grievances be noted—

any Member may address the Main Committee or move any amendment to the question. When debate is interrupted after one hour or if it concludes earlier, the Deputy Speaker shall adjourn the debate on the motion, and the resumption of the debate shall be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

193    Members’ three minute statements

If the Main Committee meets before 10 am the first item of business shall be statements by Members. The Deputy Speaker may call a Member, including a Parliamentary Secretary* but not another Minister, to make a statement for no longer than three minutes. The period for Members' statements may continue for 30 minutes, irrespective of suspensions for divisions in the House.

194    Adjournment of debate

If no Member is able to move adjournment of debate, the Deputy Speaker can announce the adjournment:

  1. when there is no further debate on a matter; or
  2. at the time set for the adjournment of the Main Committee.

195    Proceedings on bill where question unresolved

The Main Committee may continue proceedings on a bill regardless of unresolved questions unless agreement to an unresolved question is necessary to enable further questions to be considered. If progress cannot be made, the Committee shall return the bill to the House for further consideration.

196    Resumption after suspension or adjournment

The Main Committee may resume proceedings at the point at which they were interrupted following any suspension or adjournment of the Committee.

197    Return of matters to the House

The Main Committee may return a matter to the House before its consideration is completed.

  1. A matter may be returned to the House on a motion moved without notice at any time by any Member, no seconder required—

That further proceedings be conducted in the House.

The motion shall be put without amendment or debate. If the Committee agrees to, or is unable to resolve, this question, the bill or order of the day shall be returned to the House. Consideration in the House must continue from the point reached in the Committee and the House must resolve any issues that the Committee reports.

  1. The House may at any time require a matter to be returned for further consideration, on a motion moved without notice by any Member. The matter must be set down for consideration at a later hour that day.

198    Report of bill to the House

  1. When the Main Committee has fully considered a bill referred to it, a final question shall be put immediately and resolved without amendment or debate—

That this bill be reported to the House, with[out] [an] amendment[s] [and with (an) unresolved question(s)].

  1. The Clerk of the Committee shall certify a copy of the bill or other matter to be reported to the House, together with any schedules of amendments and unresolved questions. Unless otherwise provided, the Speaker shall report the matter at a later hour that day when other business is not before the House.


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* Including Assistant Ministers who are Parliamentary Secretaries. Back

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Last reviewed 26 March 2008 by Chamber Research Office, Dept of House of Representatives
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