3.1
This chapter includes matters relating to the standing orders that are of a more technical or straightforward nature. Recommendations are made to amend several standing orders, including some which could be made by Clerk’s amendment. In addition, the chapter notes one area that the committee considers would benefit from further monitoring and several matters about which the committee considers it useful to clarify practice.
Report on a bill referred to a committee
3.2
SO 144 states that, once a committee has presented a report on a bill, the Member in charge of the bill shall move a motion without notice to set a time for the consideration in detail of the bill.
3.3
Practice has not aligned with SO 144 for some time. In line with the committee’s view that the standing orders should reflect practice, the committee recommends amending SO 144 by changing ‘shall’ to ‘may’.
3.4
The committee recommends that SO 144 be amended to read:
144Report on bill referred to committee
When a standing or select committee has presented a report on a bill, the Member in charge of the bill shall may move a motion without notice to set a time for the consideration in detail of the bill.
Members’ three minute constituency statements
3.5
SO 193 provides that the first item of business on any day that the Federation Chamber meets shall be Members’ constituency statements and that these may continue for 30 minutes. The committee notes that sometimes the period extends beyond this, by agreement. There have been more than 30 occasions in the 46th Parliament when the period for Members’ constituency statements has extended beyond 30 minutes. The committee considers it beneficial to explicitly provide for this practice by adding it to SO 193.
3.6
The committee recommends that SO 193 be amended to read:
… The period for Members’ constituency statements may continue for 30 minutes, or longer if agreed, irrespective of suspensions for divisions in the House.
3.7
Also in relation to SO 193, the committee notes that the provision that Members’ constituency statements may continue for 30 minutes ‘irrespective of suspension for divisions in the House’ has at times been misunderstood to mean that the period for such statements concludes 30 minutes after the Federation Chamber commences this item of business, even if there are suspensions for divisions.
3.8
To avoid confusion, the committee considers it beneficial to clarify that current practice is that Members’ constituency statements may continue for 30 minutes, not including suspensions for divisions in the House.
Closure of a Member speaking – reference to oral notice of motion
3.9
SO 80 provides that if a Member is speaking, other than when giving a notice of motion or moving the terms of a motion, another Member may move ‘that the Member be no longer heard’.
3.10
The reference to an oral notice of motion is redundant, as provision for a Member to give an oral notice of motion in the Chamber was removed from SO 106 in 2008. Instead, now, any Member giving a notice of motion must deliver it in writing to the Clerk at the Table.
3.11
In the 45th Parliament, the Procedure Committee recommended removing the redundant reference, although the Government did not support the recommendation in 2019. The current committee again recommends removing the redundant reference to an oral notice of motion.
3.12
The committee recommends that SO 80 be amended to read:
80Closure of a Member speaking
If a Member is speaking, other than when giving a notice of motion or moving the terms of a motion, another Member may move—
That the Member be no longer heard.
The question must be put immediately and resolved without amendment or debate.
Matters not open to debate
3.13
SO 78 lists the questions and motions that are not open to debate, must be moved without comment, and must be put immediately and resolved without amendment. As part of this list, SO 78(l) refers to a ‘motion that proceedings on a bill be conducted in the House’ and cross-references SO 197, which relates to return of matters from the Federation Chamber to the House. SO 197(a) refers to further proceedings on a bill or order of the day, as follows:
A matter may be returned to the House on a motion moved without notice at any time by a Minister—
That further proceedings be conducted in the House.
The motion shall be put without amendment or debate. If the Federation Chamber agrees to, or is unable to resolve, the question, the bill or order of the day shall be returned to the House.
3.14
It is the committee’s view that SO 78(l) should include a reference to proceedings on an order of the day, to be consistent with SO 197(a).
3.15
The committee recommends that SO 78(l) be amended to read:
78Matters not open to debate
…
(l) motion that further proceedings on a bill or order of the day be conducted in the House (standing order 197);
…
Date of effect of appointment of committee Chairs and deputy Chairs
3.16
SO 232 requires, among other things, that committees shall be informed of the name of the Member who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to be its Chair. Similarly, it requires committees to be informed of who has been appointed as deputy Chair by the Leader of the Opposition.
3.17
The standing orders do not specify when the appointment of committee Chairs and deputy Chairs takes effect. Current practice is that the appointments take effect from the date of a committee’s first meeting. Where a new Chair or deputy Chair is appointed subsequently, this takes effect from the date of that Member’s appointment to the committee and/or the date of their appointment as Chair or deputy Chair, whichever is the later. The committee considers that SO 232 should be amended for clarity and to reflect current practice.
3.18
The committee recommends that SO 232 be amended with the addition of the following section:
(c) Appointments of Chair and deputy Chair made before a committee’s first meeting are deemed to take effect from the date of the committee’s first meeting. All other appointments of Chair and deputy Chair are deemed to take effect from the date of the appointment letter or the date of that Member’s appointment to the committee, whichever is the later.
Terminology – non-aligned Member
3.19
SO 2 defines ‘non-aligned Member’ as a Member who is neither a government Member nor an opposition Member. The term has been included in the standing orders since 2010, and SOs 1, 100, 215, 222 and 222A currently use the term.
3.20
The committee notes that there is potential for confusion as a Member who meets the definition of ‘non-aligned’ in the standing orders may belong to a political party. The committee considers it preferable to use an alternative term – such as ‘cross-bench’ – throughout the standing orders.
3.21
The committee recommends that SOs 1, 2, 100, 215, 222 and 222A be amended to replace ‘non-aligned Member(s)’ with an alternative term, such as ‘cross-bench Member(s)’.
Potential Clerk’s amendments
3.22
Under resolution of the House from 1 December 2004, the Clerk is ‘authorised to correct clerical errors or inconsistencies in wording in the standing orders’ but not to cause a change to the meaning of any standing order. Accordingly, the committee proposes a number of minor amendments to the standing orders be made as Clerk’s amendments. These are set out below.
SO 1 includes items on time limits for ‘Committee and delegation business on Mondays’ and ‘Private Members’ business on Mondays’. These items cross‑reference SO 192 (the Federation Chamber’s indicative order of business) but not SO 34 (the House’s order of business). The references to SO 192 should be deleted to remove the inconsistencies. (An alternative would be to include references to SO 34 in each case.)
The definition of ‘petition’ in SO 2 should be amended to include the URL to the House of Representatives e-petition website, and the formatting of ‘paper petition’ should be amended to be consistent with that of ‘electronic petition (e-petition)’.
The definition of ‘Speaker’ in SO 2 refers the reader to SO 3(d), which states that ‘the Speaker is the principal officeholder of the House’ and then refers, via text formatting, back to the defined term at SO 2. These SOs should be made easier to follow by removing the cross‑reference from SO 3(d). (An alternative would be to expand the definition in SO 2.) Also, SO 3(d) refers to references to ‘Speaker’ and ‘the Deputy Speaker’. SO 3(d) should be made more consistent by referring to ‘Deputy Speaker’.
SO 145 covers second reading amendments. SO 145(a)(ii) should be amended to remove a redundant reference to SO 122(a)(ii), which no longer exists.
SO 207(b)(iii) should be amended to clarify that a petition can be presented either in the Federation Chamber or in the House. The present wording can suggest that a petition can be presented in both (that is, twice).
References to ‘Minister for Finance and Deregulation’ in SO 222A(a)(ii) and SO 222A(b)(ii) should be amended to reflect the current portfolio title (‘Minister for Finance’) or ‘Minister responsible for Finance’, or a similar form of words.
References to ‘Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing’ in SO 222A(b) should be amended to reflect the current title of the relevant committee (‘Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations, Staffing and Security’) or to the ‘relevant Senate committee for matters of appropriations and administration’, or a similar form of words.
In SO 242(d) a comma should be inserted after ‘documents’.
3.23
The committee considers that these minor amendments will assist Members and increase the utility of the standing orders.
3.24
The committee recommends that Clerk’s amendments be made to the standing orders as outlined in Appendix B.
Further monitoring
Weeks without a sitting Monday
3.25
Mondays are the day of the week most likely to be affected by public holidays or shorter sitting weeks. For example, in the 46th Parliament, there have been 11 sittings weeks without a Monday sitting. This includes sitting weeks shortened for reasons related to the pandemic.
3.26
On Mondays, time is set aside for petitions, committee and delegation reports and private Members’ business in both the House and Federation Chamber. Sometimes the House agrees to consider matters normally considered on a Monday at other times during the week, particularly in the Federation Chamber. While this is useful, and increases the utilisation of the Federation Chamber, it requires reprogramming of other business items and coordination with the Selection Committee, which normally meets in advance of a sitting week in time for its report to be presented to the House and its decisions reflected in the Notice Paper. The committee considers it would be useful to monitor the impact on House business of sitting weeks that do not include a Monday sitting.
Clarification and notes on practice
Time limits
3.27
SO 1 specifies the maximum time limits that apply to debates, speeches and statements. The SO does not, however, specify all the situations to which the limits apply. The committee considers it useful to note some additional points in this report.
Other debates – not otherwise provided for
This item provides the examples of censure of a Minister, reference to a committee, and approval of public works. Two additional examples are debate on the suspension of standing orders by leave, and any debate on the question on the third reading of a bill. (See also the two following points.)
Suspension of standing orders or other orders on notice relating to the programming of government business
This item does not apply to a motion on notice to suspend standing orders that relates to something other than the programming of government business. In such a case, the time limits that apply are those for ‘other debates – not otherwise provided for’.
Suspension of standing orders or other orders without notice
This item applies if the motion is moved without leave; if the motion is moved by leave, the applicable time limits are those for ‘other debates – not otherwise provided for’.
Statements by permission from the Speaker (by indulgence)
This item refers to permission only from ‘the Speaker’. On occasion, the Deputy Speaker provides indulgence for statements in the Federation Chamber. The committee considers that references to ‘the Speaker’ can be read as meaning ‘the Chair’ in this item.
Private Members’ bills—Mover sharing speaking time with seconder
3.28
Under SO 41(c) a Member who has presented a private Member’s bill may speak to the second reading for no longer than 10 minutes at the time of presentation. Debate is then adjourned as required by SO 142(a).
3.29
To allow the seconder some speaking time when the bill is presented, some Members presenting private Members’ bills share their speaking time with the seconder. The committee notes that, although this is not expressly provided for in the standing orders, it has become an accepted practice of the House.
Federation Chamber business—cut-off times
3.30
The Federation Chamber’s indicative order of business at SO 192 notes that times shown for the start and finish of items of business are approximate. The committee considers this appropriate and in keeping with the way in which the Federation Chamber operates on the basis of agreement and with flexibility.
3.31
The committee considers it worth noting, for the purpose of clarification, that in certain circumstances there are ‘hard’ cut-offs for particular items of business, which may result in a Member’s speech being interrupted. For example, Selection Committee determinations or resolutions of the House that alter the order of business on certain dates may impose specific cut-off times. Also, the Deputy Speaker may need to interrupt proceedings to allow the grievance debate to run for one hour before the scheduled adjournment time, as provided for under SO 192(b).
Supplementary committee members—participatory rights
3.32
SO 215(d) relates to the membership of general purpose standing committees. It provides that supplementary members on general purpose standing committees shall have the same participatory rights as other members, but that they cannot vote on questions before the committee.
3.33
As ‘participatory rights’ of committee members are not defined in the standing orders, the committee considers it beneficial to note current practice for reference. Supplementary members are able to participate in a committee inquiry in the same way as other members. Specifically, supplementary members are counted for quorum purposes and may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee in the same way as other members, including by moving motions.
Timing of report signing
3.34
SO 246(b) specifies that the Chair of a committee shall sign each report of the committee, and SO 246(c) provides that any protest or dissenting report shall be signed by the member(s) protesting or dissenting. SO 247 sets out requirements for presentation of committee reports to the House or Federation Chamber.
3.35
The committee considers it useful to note House practice in relation to timing of the signing of reports. Established practice is that committee reports, and protest or dissenting reports, shall be signed before the report is presented to the House.
Ross Vasta MP
Chair
January 2022