The Standing Committee on Petitions is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives responsible for the processing of petitions addressed to the House of Representatives.[1] The committee is governed by Standing Order 220 and consists of eight members, five government members and three non-government members. The chair is appointed by the Prime Minister and the deputy chair by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 232.[2]
Standing Committee on Petitions | |
|---|---|
| 47th Parliament of Australia | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Deputy Chair | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 8 |
Political groups | Government (5)
Opposition (3)
|
| Meeting place | |
| Parliament House Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia | |
| Website | |
| Standing Committee on Petitions | |
| Rules | |
| Standing Orders of the House of Representatives | |
History
editThe Procedure Committee undertook a study tour of other parliaments in 2006, resulting in a report which, among other things noted the potential value in the establishment of a Petitions Committee modelled on the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament.[3] This was followed by a further report of the Procedure Committee in September 2007 formally recommending the creation of a Petitions Committee.[4] in 2008 the Rudd Government amended standing orders establishing a Standing Committee on Petitions for the first time.[5]
Membership
edit47th Parliament
editIn the 47th parliament (July 2022 – present), the membership of the committee is the following:[6]
| Member | Party | Electorate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Templeman Chair | Labor | Division of Macquarie, Queensland | |
| Ross Vasta Deputy Chair | Liberal National | Division of Bonner, Queensland | |
| Sam Birrell | Nationals | Division of Nicholls, Victoria | |
| Alison Byrnes | Labor | Division of Cunningham, New South Wales | |
| Lisa Chesters | Labor | Division of Bendigo, Victoria | |
| Garth Hamilton | Liberal National | Division of Groom, Queensland | |
| Tracey Roberts | Labor | Division of Pearce, Western Australia | |
| Meryl Swanson | Labor | Division of Paterson, New South Wales | |
46th Parliament
editIn the 46th parliament (July 2019 – April 2022), the membership of the committee was as follows:
| Member | Party | Electorate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llew O'Brien Chair | Liberal National | Division of Wide Bay, Queensland | |
List of Inquiries
edit| Parliament | Reference date | Report title | Tabled date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42nd | 4 June 2008 | Electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives [7] | 16 November 2009 |
| 12 February 2008 | The work of the first Petitions Committee: 2008-2010[8] | 21 June 2010 | |
| 43rd | 25 October 2010 | The work of the Petitions Committee: 2010-2013 - An established part of the democratic process[9] | 24 June 2013 |
| 44th | 4 December 2013 | The work of the Petitions Committee: 2013-2016 [10] | 5 May 2016 |
| 45th | 24 May 2017 | Making voices heard: Inquiry into the e-petitioning system of the House of Representatives Petitions Committee[11] | 29 May 2018[12][13] |
| 15 August 2018 | Your voice can change our future: Inquiry into the future of petitioning in the House | 21 February 2019 | |
| 46th | 9 December 2020 | Report on the inquiry into aspects of petitioning security and accessibility | 24 June 2021 |
| 47th | No current inquiries | ||
List of Chairs
edit| No. | Parliament | Chair | Term | Deputy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42nd | Julia Irwin | 12 February 2008 – 19 July 2010[14] |
Russell Broadbent[15] | ||
| 2 | 43rd | John Murphy | 25 October 2010 – 5 August 2013[16] |
Dennis Jensen[17] | ||
| 3 | 44th | Dennis Jensen | 4 December 2013 – 9 May 2016[17] |
Justine Elliot[18] | ||
| 4 | 45th | Ross Vasta | 14 September 2016 – 21 June 2017[19] | |||
| 5 | Lucy Wicks | 21 June 2017 – 11 April 2019[11] | ||||
| 6 | 46th | Llew O'Brien | 24 July 2019 – 24 February 2020[20] | |||
| 7 | Ken O'Dowd | 6 March 2020 – 11 April 2022[21] | ||||
| 8 | 47th | Susan Templeman | 26 July 2022 – Incumbent[22] |
Ross Vasta[19] | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Role of the Committee". Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ "Standing Orders Chapter 16" (PDF). Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/%20House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/studyprogram/report/chapter2.pdf
- ^ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/petitioning/report/fullreport.pdf
- ^ https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F2008-02-12%2F0077%22
- ^ "Petitions Committee Membership". Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ Electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ The work of the first Petitions Committee: 2008-2010 (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ The work of the Petitions Committee: 2010-2013 - An established part of the democratic process (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ The work of the Petitions Committee: 2013-2016 (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ a b Making Voices Heard (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. May 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "No. 114". Votes and Proceedings. Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives: 1567. 29 May 2018.
- ^ Lucy Wicks, Chair of the Standing Committee on Petitions (29 May 2018). "Committees—Petitions Committee—Report". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 4681.
- ^ "Biography for IRWIN, Julia Claire". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for BROADBENT, Russell Evan". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for MURPHY, the Hon. John Paul". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Biography for JENSEN, Dr Dennis Geoffrey". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for ELLIOT, the Hon. Maria Justine (Justine)". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Biography for VASTA, Ross Xavier". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for O'BRIEN, Llewellyn (Llew) Stephen". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for O'DOWD, Kenneth (Ken) Desmond". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Biography for TEMPLEMAN, Susan Raye". Retrieved 15 March 2024.