Week beginning 14 May 2024


Week beginning 14 May 2024

This page provides an overview of the key events of the last sitting week in the House of Representatives. It includes all bills presented and debated, and selected statements, debates and committee business. For the official record of proceedings, see the Votes and Proceedings. For a detailed procedural account of events, see the Procedural Digest and House Review.

Key events

  • Speaker announced the Return to Writ for the electoral division of Cook, and the Member for Cook made and subscribed the oath of allegiance (14 May)
  • Condolence motion relating to the deaths of Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, Ash Good, Dawn Singleton, Faraz Tahir and Jade Young (14 May)
  • Speaker informed the House of the death of former members Kelly Joy Hoare and John Barry Mildren OAM (14 May)
  • Budget presented (14 May)
  • Statement on a significant matter—Australian recipients of Golden Lion awards (16 May)
  • House agreed to establish a Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society (16 May)
  • Member for Wentworth moved a motion relating to gendered violence (16 May)
  • Budget reply (16 May)

Legislation

10 bills were presented, and 11 bills were passed by the House.

Ministerial Statements

  • Regional budget statement (15 May)   

Matters of Public Importance

Committee and delegation business

Committee reports presented

Standing Committee on Appropriations and Administration

  • Report No. 29: Budget estimates 2024-25 (16 May)

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

  • Statutory inquiry into ASIC, the Takeovers Panel, and the corporations legislation: Competition in clearing and settlement and the ASX CHESS Replacement Project: The CHESS Replacement Project is too important to fail (15 May)

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

  • Human rights scrutiny reports—Report 3 of 2024, incorporating dissenting reports (15 May)
  • Human rights scrutiny reports—Report 4 of 2024, incorporating a dissenting report (15 May)

Joint Standing Committee on National Capital and External Territories

  • A Capital for all Australians: Report of the inquiry into fostering and promoting the significance of Australia’s National Capital, incorporating a dissenting report (15 May)

Standing Committee on Petitions

  • Report 25: Petitions and Ministerial responses (14 May)

Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit

  • 2024-25 Draft estimates for the Australian National Audit Office and the Parliamentary Budget Office—Budget day statement (14 May)

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works

  • Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation—Nuclear Medicine Facility project (3rd report of 2024) (14 May)

Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth

  • Strengthening Australia's approach to trade negotiations, incorporating a dissenting report (14 May)

Joint Standing Committee on Treaties

  • Report 215: AANZFTA second protocol (15 May)

Government responses

Standing Committee on Agriculture and Industry

  • Smart farming: Inquiry into agricultural innovation (14 May)

Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources

  • Aussie logs for Aussie jobs: Inquiry into timber supply chain constraints in the Australian planation sector (14 May)
  • Growing Australia: Inquiry into growing Australian agriculture to $100 billion by 2030 (14 May)
  • Supporting a strong future for Australian aquaculture: Australian aquaculture sector (14 May)

Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts

  • Report on the inquiry into the Australian music industry (14 May)
  • Sculpting a national cultural plan: Igniting a post-COVID economy for the arts (14 May)
  • Report on the inquiry into the Australian film and television industry (15 May)

Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

  • Advisory report on the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020 (14 May)
  • Advisory report on the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Real Time Disclosure of Political Donations) Bill 2019 (14 May)
  • Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering the Donation Disclosure Threshold) Bill 2019 (14 May)
  • Excluded: The impact of section 44 on Australian democracy (14 May)
  • Report on the conduct of the 2019 Federal Election and matters related thereto (14 May)
  • Interim report on all aspects of the conduct of the 2019 Federal Election and matters related thereto Delegation to the International Grand Committee, Dublin, Ireland (14 May)
  • Interim report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2013 Federal Election: Senate voting practices (14 May)
  • Report on the candidate qualification checklist (14 May)
  • Report on the conduct of the 2016 federal election and matters related thereto (14 May)
  • Second interim report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2013 Federal Election: An assessment of electronic voting options (14 May)
  • The 2013 Federal Election: Report on the conduct of the 2013 election and matters related thereto (14 May)
  • The 2016 Federal Election—Third interim report: AEC modernisation (14 May)

Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training

  • Australian Government funding arrangements for non-NHMRC research (16 May)
  • Education in remote and complex environments (16 May)
  • Inquiry into innovation and creativity: workforce for the new economy (16 May)
  • Status of the teaching profession (16 May)
  • Unique individuals, broad skills: inquiry into school to work transition (16 May)

Standing Committee on Environment and Energy

  • Powering our future: Inquiry into modernising Australia’s electricity grid (14 May)
  • Advisory report on the inquiry into the Australian Local Power Agency Bill 2021 and Australian Local Power Agency (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2021 (15 May)

Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

  • Inquiry into transition from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) (14 May)
  • Strengthening Australia’s relationships in the Pacific (14 May)

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

  • Inquiry report: ParentsNext: examination of Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements (14 May)

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

  • Advisory report on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2023 (14 May)
  • Advisory Report on the National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No. 3) Bill 2023 (14 May)
  • Advisory report on the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 and Statutory Review of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (15 May)
  • Advisory report on the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Bill 2022 (15 May)
  • Review of Part 14 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (15 May)

Joint Statutory Committee on Law Enforcement

  • Integrity of Australia’s border arrangements (15 May)

Joint Standing Committee on Migration

  • Inquiry into Australia's skilled migration program—Interim report, March 2021; and Final Report, August 2021 (14 May)
  • Inquiry into efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration and education agents (14 May)
  • Inquiry into Working Holiday Maker Program—Interim report, September 2020; and Final Report, November 2020 (14 May)
  • The report of the inquiry into review processes associated with visa cancellations made on criminal grounds (14 May)

Joint Standing Committee on National Capital and External Territories

  • Restoring democracy: Local governance on Norfolk Island (14 May)
  • Telling Australia’s story and why it's important: Report on the inquiry into Canberra's national institutions (14 May)

Standing Committee on Petitions

  • Your voice can change our future: Inquiry into the future of petitioning in the House (16 May)

Standing Committee on Procedure

  • Division required? Electronic voting in the House of Representatives (16 May)
  • Maintenance of the standing orders (16 May)
  • Raising the standard: Inquiry into recommendations 10 and 27 of Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (16 May)
  • Speaker's response to Raising the standard: Inquiry into recommendations 10 and 27 of Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (16 May)
  • Role of the Federation Chamber: Celebrating 20 years of operation (16 May)

Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit

  • Executive Minutes on reports Nos 495, 497, 498 and 499. (16 May)

Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs
  • Inquiry into constitutional reform and referendums (16 May)

Delegation reports presented

  • Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Nepal and India, from 4 to 12 October 2023—Report, May 2024. (15 May)
  • Australian Parliamentary Delegation to 148th Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland from 23 to 27 March 2024—Report, May 2024. (16 May)

Private Members' business

No private members' motions were moved or debated.

More information

These Infosheets provide useful information about the business of the House and Federation Chamber.

For the official record of the proceedings of the House, including a list of papers presented, go to the Votes and Proceedings. To read transcripts of the debates, go to Hansard.

More House statistics

Statistical records of the work of the House of Representatives are available on a range of business items, including legislation, questions, statements and petitions.