Chapter 5 - Officers
of the Senate:
Parliamentary administration
Deputy
President and Chair of Committees
The Deputy President and Chair of Committees is the President’s deputy
and may take the chair in the Senate when requested by the President to do so,
and is also the presiding officer in committee of the whole, presiding over
committee proceedings in the chamber whenever a committee of the whole Senate
is constituted (SO 11). Such a
committee is formed for several purposes, but particularly for the detailed
examination of legislation (SO 115(1)). When the
committee is formed, the President leaves the President’s chair, and the Chair
of Committees takes the chair at the table below, between the Clerk and the
Deputy Clerk. The composition of the committee is the same as that of the
Senate.
The Deputy President is also deemed to be the President for the purpose
of the statutory functions of the President in the event of the President’s
death, absence or incapacity (Parliamentary
Presiding Officers Act 1965, ss 5-7).
The Deputy
President and Chair of Committees exercises the same authority when presiding
in the Senate or in committee as the President, but any disorder in committee
may be dealt with only by the Senate, on receiving a report from the Chair
(SO 144(7)).
The Deputy President takes the chair of the Senate whenever requested
to do so by the President during a sitting of the Senate, without any formal
communication to the Senate (SO 15(1)). The Deputy
President must not remain in the chair of the Senate after the President enters
the chamber (ruling of President Givens, SD, 24/6/1915, p. 4312). When the President is in the chamber the
President must be in the chair, and cannot, in order to take part in debate in
the Senate, put the Deputy President in the chair (ruling of President Givens, SD, 18/4/1918, p. 4021).
Similarly, the Deputy President and Chair of Committees must be in the chair
when in the chamber in committee of the whole.
The term of service and method of appointment of the Deputy President
and Chair of Committees are the same as for the President (SOs 9 and 10).
Since 1981 there
has been a practice, usually followed, whereby, if the President is a senator
from the party supporting the government (which has invariably been the case
since 1974), the Deputy President is chosen from the largest party not
supporting the government.
The standing orders make no provision for the resignation of the Deputy
President and Chair of Committees. Resignations in writing have been directed
to the President (16/3/1965, J.222; 19/2/1980, J.1129; 9/5/1995, J.3235; 6/5/1997, J.1829). There is no reason for a resignation not being made orally
in the Senate, but in some past cases the senators concerned have been
appointed as ministers and it is obviously undesirable that a Deputy President
should also hold ministerial office for a period until the Senate next meets.
Previous Page | Contents | Next Page
Website feedback: web.senate@aph.gov.au
Last reviewed 31 July 2009 by the Senate Web Administrator
© Commonwealth of Australia
Parliament of Australia Web Site Privacy Statement
Images courtesy of AUSPIC
|
