24 November 2016
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Politics and Public Administration Section
Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Background
Chronology of events and developments
2014
2015
2016
The path to the double dissolution
election
Prorogation and recall of Parliament
The Budget and the double dissolution
The Speaker
Elections
Acknowledgement of country
Procedural and other developments
relating to the Speakership
Amendment to Standing Order 68—power
of the Speaker to intervene
Security identification requirements
for visitors wearing coverings
Opposition motions
Resignation of Speaker Bishop
Question Time
House of Representatives
Senate
Suspensions
House of Representatives
Divisions
House of Representatives
Senate
Legislation
Volume of legislation
House of Representatives—bills
discharged and private members’ bills
Senate—bills discharged, private
senators’ bills and double dissolution triggers
Crossbench
House of Representatives
Senate
Committees
House of Representatives
Selection committee
Senate
Estimates committees
Composition of the 44th Parliament by
party and gender
Ministry
By-elections and casual vacancies
House of Representatives
Senate
Addresses to the Parliament
Ministerial statements
House of Representatives
Senate
Petitions
Other procedural changes
Use of electronic devices
Children in the House of Representatives
Chamber
Appendix 1: Private members’ bills
introduced in the House of Representatives
Appendix 2: Private senators’ bills
introduced in the Senate
Appendix 3: Double dissolution
triggers and the Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament and related
correspondence
Appendix 4: Conscience votes in the
44th Parliament
Appendix 5: Floor crossings in the
44th Parliament
Appendix 6: Further reading
Parliamentary Library publications
Research papers
FlagPosts
House of Representatives Standing
Committee on Procedure reports
Senate Procedural Information
Bulletins and Standing Committee on Procedure reports
Acknowledgements
The Politics and Public Administration section would like to
thank Tim Bryant and Annemieke Jongsma, Senate Procedure Office; the staff of
the Senate Table Office; James Rees, House of Representatives Chamber Research
Office; and Leo Terpstra for their invaluable assistance in the preparation of
this Research Paper.
Abbreviations
| ALP |
Australian Labor Party |
| AMEP |
Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party |
| CLP |
Country Liberal Party (Northern Territory) |
| DLP |
Democratic Labour Party |
| FFP |
Family First Party |
| GRN |
Australian Greens |
| IND |
Independent |
| KAP |
Katter’s Australian Party |
| LDP |
Liberal Democratic Party |
| LIB |
Liberal Party of Australia |
| LNP |
Liberal National party |
| NP |
The Nationals |
| PUP |
Palmer United Party |
Introduction
In 2013 Australia returned to majority government when the Abbott
Coalition Government was elected with 90 out of the 150 seats in the House of
Representatives. In the Senate, minor and micro parties and Independents held
the balance of power. The 44th Parliament was very different to the preceding
Parliament but in many ways no less dramatic. A Senate Procedural Information
Bulletin noted at the end of the 44th Parliament:
First, the prorogation for a new session of Parliament opened
on 18 April 2016; now the simultaneous dissolution of both Houses under section
57 of the Constitution, which took effect at 9 am on 9 May, the anniversary of
the opening of the first Federal Parliament in 1901 (as well as of the
provisional and new parliamentary buildings in 1927 and 1988). Both procedures
have now been invoked for the first time in some decades, signalling that the
end of the 44th Parliament has been an unusual one.[1]
This paper reviews the major parliamentary and political
events of the 44th Parliament. The paper is not an exhaustive chronicle of the
44th Parliament but a review of the major aspects of the workings of this
Parliament. It is organised thematically covering, where relevant, procedural
changes, statistical information, and events of note and interest in both the
Senate and the House of Representatives. It is intended to be used as a
companion to the Parliamentary Library paper on the 43rd (Hung) Parliament and
the forthcoming research paper on the 2016 federal election.[2]
Background
The 44th Parliament was notable for a number of upheavals in
party leadership and party composition, notably the deposing of a first term
Prime Minister.[3]
As the Parliament progressed, the Senate’s role in scrutinising and
deliberating on the Government’s legislative agenda became even more crucial.
The following provides a chronology of the 44th Parliament, sets out some of
the key party changes and some of the critical steps leading to the
simultaneous dissolution (or double dissolution) of both Houses on 9 May 2016.
The 43rd Parliament came to a close on 5 August 2013 when
the House of Representatives was dissolved. The federal election was held on 27
August 2013. The Coalition, led by Tony Abbott MP (LIB, Warringah, NSW) had a
decisive win in the House of Representatives with the Coalition winning 90
seats, the ALP 55 seats, with the remainder going to small parties (three
seats) and Independents (two seats).[4]
The election in the Senate resulted in the Coalition having 33 seats, Labor 26,
and a large crossbench of nine Greens, three Palmer United Party (PUP), one
Independent, one Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), one Family First Party (FFP),
one Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and one Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party
(AMEP). While a recount was progressing on close WA Senate seats it was
discovered that 1,370 ballots were missing. Without these ballots Labor and PUP
each lost a seat and the Greens and the Australian Sport’s Party each won a
seat.
The election results for the six Western Australian Senate
seats were voided by the High Court sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns on
20 February 2014.[5]
Following a half-Senate election for the WA Senate seats held on 5 April 2014
the Senate composition after 1 July 2014 comprised: Coalition 33 seats, ALP 25
seats, Greens 10 seats, PUP three seats, LDP one seat, FFP one seat, AMEP one
seat, DLP one seat and one Independent.
Mr Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister on 18 September
2013. Prime Minister Abbott announced his ministry on 16 September 2013, with
only one woman in the Cabinet, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop MP (LIB,
Curtin, WA).[6]
The 44th Parliament commenced on 12 November 2013.
On 13 November 2013 the Leader of
the House, Christopher Pyne MP (LIB, Sturt, SA) introduced amendments to
Standing and Sessional Orders that govern the conduct of House business. Details
of these changes are provided below.
Chronology
of events and developments
2014
Senator Arthur Sinodinos (LIB, NSW) stood aside from his
position as Assistant Treasurer on 19 March 2014 as he had been called as a
witness before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as part
of an ongoing investigation.[7]
Senator Sinodinos appeared at ICAC in his
capacity as a former Director of Australian Water Holdings and treasurer
of the NSW Liberal Party. Senator Sinodinos resigned from the Abbott ministry
on 19 December 2014.[8]
On 13 May 2014 the Coalition government handed down its
first Budget. The Budget sparked a vigorous public debate about the need for
change, the distributional effects of the Budget proposals, and the
appropriateness of individual measures. The Budget was criticised as unfairly
targeting lower income earners with measures including changes to Newstart,
Disability Support Pension and Youth Allowance, the freezing of family payments
for two years, the $7 co-payment for doctor’s visits and other services, the
fuel excise, and the increasing costs of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
medicines.[9]
Legislation implementing a number of the measures was subsequently blocked in
the Senate.
The new Senate was sworn in on 7 July 2014 by the
Governor-General. The Senate had the largest crossbench in its
history with 17 senators representing minor or micro-parties and one
independent. The Government required the support of six of the
crossbenchers to pass its legislation.
On 4 September 2014 Democratic Labour Party (DLP) senator
for Victoria, John Madigan, announced
his resignation from the DLP and that he would sit as an Independent senator.[10]
On 24 November 2014 PUP senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie,
announced
she had resigned from the PUP to sit as an Independent.[11]
On 21 December 2014 Prime Minister Abbott announced changes
to his ministry with effect from 23 December.[12]
A second woman was promoted to Cabinet, Minister for Health Sussan Ley MP (LIB,
Farrer, NSW).
2015
On 9 February 2015, following party unrest over
declining polls, the federal Parliamentary Liberal Party met to consider a
motion to spill the leadership of the party. The motion, moved by Luke Simpkins
MP (LIB, Cowan, WA) and seconded by Don Randall MP (LIB, Canning, WA), was
defeated 69 to 39, with one member (Ross Vasta (LIB, Bonner, Qld) on paternity
leave and one member casting an informal vote.[13]
On 16 March 2015 PUP senator for Queensland, Glenn Lazarus, announced
he had resigned from the PUP on 12 March and would sit as an Independent.[14]On
4 February 2016 Senator Lazarus informed the Senate of his appointment as the
leader of the Glenn Lazarus Team.[15]
On the morning of 6 May 2015 the leader of the Australian
Greens (GRN), Senator Christine Milne (Tas.), announced her resignation as
leader of the party. The new leader, Senator Richard Di Natale (Vic.), was
elected at a party room meeting the same morning. The party also chose two co-deputy
leaders, senators Larissa Waters (Qld) and Scott Ludlum (WA).
On 21 July the Government and Parliament were shocked by the
death of Don Randall (LIB, Canning, WA). The Parliament paid tribute to Mr
Randall in a condolence motion on 11 August 2015.[16]
A by-election was held for the seat on 19 September 2015 (see Table 7 below).
On 2 August 2015 the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Bronwyn Bishop MP (LIB, Mackellar, NSW), resigned her position following
controversy over her use of travel entitlements.[17]
Tony Smith MP (LIB, Casey, Vic.) became Speaker on 10 August 2015 (see Speaker
section below for further detail). [18]
On 14 September 2015 the Minister for Communications, Malcolm
Turnbull MP (LIB, Wentworth, NSW), challenged Prime Minister Abbott’s
leadership of the federal Parliamentary Liberal Party. Mr Turnbull stated that
Mr Abbott had failed to provide economic leadership, pointed out that the party
had lost 30 Newspolls in a row, and called for the restoration of traditional Cabinet
government.[19]
Mr Turnbull won the ballot for the position of leader 54 to
44, and Julie Bishop won the deputy leader position over Kevin Andrews MP (LIB,
Menzies, Vic.) 70 to 30.[20]
Ms Bishop has held the position of deputy leader of the federal Parliamentary
Liberal Party since November 2007.
On Tuesday 15 September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in
as Australia’s 29th Prime Minister. On the same day a new Coalition agreement
was agreed between Mr Turnbull and Mr Truss MP (NP, Wide Bay, Qld), leader of
the Nationals.[21]
Mr Turnbull announced his first ministry of 42 on 20
September 2015, with the members being sworn in on 21 September 2015. Some of the
key changes included the appointment of Scott Morrison MP (LIB, Cook, NSW) as
Treasurer, replacing Joe Hockey MP (LIB, North Sydney, NSW) who later resigned
from Parliament on 23 October. Senator Marise Payne (LIB, NSW) was appointed
Minister for Defence, becoming the first female in that role. In total five
women were appointed to the Cabinet. Senator Sinodinos was appointed Cabinet
Secretary.[22]
Further changes to the ministry were announced on 30
September including Ken Wyatt MP (LIB, Hasluck, WA) as the Assistant Minister
for Health, becoming the first indigenous member of the Federal Executive
Council.[23]
2016
The Turnbull Government was subject to a number of
resignations and retirements that culminated in a ministerial reshuffle in
February 2016.
On 29 December 2015 Mr Turnbull announced the resignation of
Jamie Briggs MP (LIB, Mayo, SA) and the standing aside of Mal Brough MP (LIB,
Fisher, Qld).[24]
Mr Briggs resigned as the Minister for Cities and the Built Environment after ‘inappropriate’
conduct towards a diplomatic officer during an official visit to Hong Kong, and
Mr Brough stood aside as Special Minister of State pending a police investigation
into his alleged role in the downfall of former Speaker Peter Slipper.[25]
In February 2016 Mr Brough informed the Prime Minister he did not wish to be
considered for a ministerial position and on 26 February announced his
intention not to contest the next election.[26]
In early February 2016 the ‘Father of the House’ Philip
Ruddock MP (LIB, Berowra, NSW) announced, after almost 43 years in the Federal
Parliament, that he would not be contesting the next election.[27]
He was appointed the first Special Envoy for Human Rights.[28]
On 10 February 2016 the Minister for Trade, Andrew Robb MP (LIB, Goldstein,
Vic.), announced he would retire at the next election and stood down from the
ministry.[29]
On 11 February 2016 Warren Truss announced he was stepping
down from leadership of the Nationals.[30]
At a party room meeting on the same day Barnaby Joyce MP (NP, New England, NSW)
was chosen leader unopposed while Senator Fiona Nash (NP, NSW) defeated six
opponents to become the first female deputy leader of the Nationals.
The change resulted in a new coalition agreement between the
Liberal Party and the Nationals and an additional place in the Cabinet for the
Nationals in the subsequent reshuffle.[31]
Further uncertainty for the ministry resulted from questions
about the future of the human services and veterans’ affairs minister, Stuart
Robert MP (LIB, Fadden, Qld), over a ‘private’ 2014 trip to China, when he was
assistant defence minister, to witness a mining deal and meet with a Chinese
vice minister. On 12 February 2016 the Prime Minister announced that Mr Robert
had asked not to be considered for a position in the ministerial reshuffle.[32]
Mr Turnbull announced his second ministry on 13 February
2016.[33]
The ministry was sworn in on 18 February. The number of women in Cabinet was
boosted to six, while the total in the executive rose to 10. Mr Turnbull
announced that Mr Robb was to become the Special Envoy for Trade from 13
February until the election.
The path to the double dissolution election
From the beginning of the Turnbull government the
prospects of a double dissolution (DD) had been widely reported, as there were
two existing ‘triggers’ in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014.
The Senate had also rejected a number of other Bills,
including the Building
and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building
and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2013 by
which the Government aimed to re-establish the Australian Building and
Construction Commission (ABCC). The Government saw the ABCC and related
legislation as crucial to the transition to the new economy. The Bills had been
negatived by the Senate on 17 August 2015 and were negatived again on the 18
April 2016 (See Legislation section below).
The Senate also had lengthy debate, 39 hours, on the Commonwealth
Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 to allow optional preferential voting for the
Senate.[34]
The Government saw it as a priority to change the Senate voting system in order
to remove ‘the practice of group voting tickets, of backroom deals, of
elaborate creation of micro parties [that] has resulted in people being elected
to the Senate with a tiny fraction of primary votes.’[35]
This measure had been a recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on
Electoral Matters inquiry into the 2013 election.[36]
The Bill passed on 18 March 2016 with the Government and the Greens supporting
the legislation.[37]
Before the final debate on the electoral legislation, in a tactical move, the
crossbenchers attempted to introduce motions bringing on the debate on the ABCC
but the Government voted against the measure honouring the agreement made with
the Greens in return for their support.[38]
A subsequent challenge to the validity of the Senate electoral laws brought by
Senator Bob Day (FFP, SA) and others was dismissed by the High Court on 13 May
2016.[39]
When the motion for the next meeting of the
Senate was moved on 17 March 2016, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate moved an amendment to provide that the
discretion of the President to determine the next sitting could not be
exercised without the concurrence of an absolute majority of senators.[40] The amended motion was
passed 31–22.[41]
The Senate rose on 17 March 2016 with the understanding that it would
not sit until 10 May, the day set down for the Budget.
Prorogation
and recall of Parliament
On 21 March 2016, in an unusual move, the Prime Minister requested
the Governor-General, acting under section
5 of the Constitution, to prorogue Parliament on Friday 15 April and
summon Parliament to sit again on Monday 18 April 2016.[42]
Proroguing a Parliament essentially terminates the current
session of Parliament. Unlike dissolving a Parliament it does not necessarily
lead to an election; after prorogation, a Parliament can be recalled to sit
again. The last time Parliament was prorogued and then recalled before an
election was the Thirtieth Parliament in 1977, to allow the Queen to open
Parliament.[43]
An effect of prorogation is that all business before both Houses lapses.
However, both Houses have provisions to later restore to the Notice Paper and
resume consideration of bills that have lapsed due to prorogation. When a bill
is in possession of the House in which it did not originate, that House may not
resume consideration of the Bill unless it has received a message from the
other House requesting it to do so.
The recall of Parliament was to provide the Senate with an
additional three sitting weeks to consider the ABCC and Registered
Organisations legislation. The Prime Minister announced that if the Senate
failed to pass the laws he would advise the Governor-General to invoke the
provisions of section
57 of the Constitution to dissolve both Houses of Parliament and
issue writs for an election.[44]
The Government also announced that the Budget was moved
forward a week from 10 May to 3 May 2016 to allow for a possible DD election
being called on or before 11 May.[45]
Supply Bills would therefore be introduced by the Government, ‘to ensure the
continuity of the normal business of government in the context of a double
dissolution election’.[46]
A Supply Bill generally provides for interim appropriations out of the
Consolidated Revenue Fund to fund the core activities of the government until
the passage of the annual Appropriation Bills.[47]
The House of Representatives met on 18 and 19 April 2016.
Following the truncated formalities of the opening of the Parliament by the
Governor-General on 18 April the Government moved a motion to request the
Senate to resume consideration of the ABCC legislation.[48]
On 18 April, the first day of the three week special
sitting, following the opening of the new session of the Parliament, the Senate
received the message from the House of Representatives requesting the Senate to
resume consideration of the ABCC bills. The Senate complied with the request
and again defeated the legislation to establish the ABCC, 36 to 34 votes.[49]
This action set in motion the process for a DD election.
The Senate also agreed to a Labor motion for the Senate
Finance and Public Administration References Committee to inquire and report by
4 May 2016—the day after the federal budget—into associated entities of
political parties, with particular reference to the adequacy of the funding and
disclosure regime relating to annual returns, and ‘(that) Senator Sinodinos
appear before the committee to answer questions’.[50]
Senator Sinodinos declined to appear before the Committee and the matter was
referred to the Privileges Committee.[51]
The Senate also agreed to an Opposition motion
to provide for two days of Budget estimates hearings on 5 and 6 May 2016, with
committees to report by 11 May.[52]
The Senate adjourned on 19 April 2016.
The Budget
and the double dissolution
The Parliament resumed on 2 May 2016.
The Supply
Bill (no 1) 2016–17, Supply
Bill (no.2) 2016–17 and Supply
(Parliamentary Departments) (no.1) Bill 2016–17 were introduced to the
Parliament on 2 May 2016 and passed by both Houses by 3 May, receiving assent
on 4 May 2016. The bills provided for expenditure for approximately
the first five months of the new financial year (less the impact of any
approved new policy expenditure) as an interim measure to enable the public
(and parliamentary) service to continue during the election period. As part of
the Government’s Budget handed down on 3 May 2016 the Appropriation Bills were
introduced but lapsed with the dissolution of the Parliament.[53] The House adjourned on 5
May 2016, following the Opposition leader’s Budget-in-reply speech.
The Senate had adjourned on 4 May prior to holding
two days of Estimates hearings.
On 8 May 2016 the Prime Minister announced the
Governor-General had accepted his request under section 57 of the
Constitution to dissolve both houses of Parliament effective 9 May 2016,
and to call a DD election for both Houses on 2 July 2016.[54]
The Speaker
Two Speakers of the House of Representatives served in the
44th Parliament: Bronwyn Bishop MP and Tony Smith MP.
Elections
On the first day of the 44th Parliament (12 November 2013),
the House of Representatives elected Bronwyn Bishop MP as its 31st Speaker.[55]
The election for the Speakership was contested, with the Opposition nominating
Robert Mitchell MP (ALP, McEwen, Vic.) for the office; a ballot was held, with
a result of 93 to 56 in favour of Mrs Bishop.[56]
Mrs Bishop stated that as Speaker she would continue to attend Liberal Party
room meetings, but not meetings relating to tactics.[57]
The Deputy Speakership was also contested, with the Government nominating Bruce
Scott MP (NP, Maranoa, Vic.) for the office and the Opposition nominating Mr
Mitchell. The resulting ballot saw Mr Scott elected as Deputy Speaker by 91
votes to 56 and Mr Mitchell elected as Second Deputy Speaker.[58]
Following Speaker Bishop’s resignation from the position of
Speaker, on 2 August 2015 (see further below), Tony Smith MP was elected
unopposed as the 32nd Speaker of the House of Representatives on 10 August 2015.
He remained in the office until the dissolution of the Parliament on 9 May
2016.[59]
Following his election as Speaker Mr Smith stated that he would not attend
weekly Liberal Party room meetings, and also indicated that he would institute
periodic discussions with the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition
Business, and independent members to ‘discuss the operation of parliament’.[60]
The Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker positions remained unchanged.
Acknowledgement of country
The acknowledgement of country in the Order of Business for
the House, introduced in the 43rd Parliament, was retained in the 44th
Parliament,[61]
with Speaker Bishop making the first acknowledgement of country on the second
day of sitting (13 November 2013).[62]
Procedural and other developments relating to the
Speakership
Amendment to Standing Order 68—power of the Speaker to
intervene
Among the Government’s proposed amendments to the Standing
Orders (SOs) on 13 November 2013 was a change to SO 68 empowering the
Speaker to ‘intervene’ if a member repeated a matter previously the subject of
a personal explanation given by another member to correct a misrepresentation.[63]
In moving the amendments the Leader of the House, Christopher Pyne stated that:
Members on both
sides of the House will be very familiar with the practice of making an
outrageous statement about another member of the House ... Time and time again,
members had to rise to the dispatch box to correct such misrepresentations when
they knew the person making it knew it was a misrepresentation. I think all
sides of the House are thoroughly sick of that pantomime and we intend to
eliminate it. The Speaker will be able to decide that, if a misrepresentation
has already been corrected, the continued making of that misrepresentation is
disorderly. I think that will improve the atmosphere of the chamber.[64]
The Opposition objected to this proposed change, stating
that it constituted:
increas[ing] the powers of the Speaker beyond what they have ever been in the
history of this House so as to allow the Speaker of the parliament to apply
censorship to political views—to provide censorship to one half of the
political debate ... [the government] is turning the role of the Speaker from
that of an arbiter and adjudicator to that of a censorship board.[65]
The change to SO 68 (along with the other government
amendments to the Standing Orders) was agreed to by the House after a division
on 13 November 2013.[66]
Security identification requirements for visitors wearing
coverings
On 2 October 2014 Speaker Bishop and the President of the
Senate (Senator Stephen Parry, LIB, Tas.) introduced interim security measures
including requiring those ‘entering the building covering themselves in such a
way they cannot be clearly identified’ to ‘produce identification that matches
their identity’.[67]
It was also stated that the measures were pending ‘further advice from
specialist agencies’.[68]
In October the Speaker stated that the Presiding Officers had received advice
relating to ‘an action planned that
would have disrupted the business of the House’,[69] with the President of the Senate also
stating that, on 2 October 2014:
I was advised that a
group of people, some being male, were going to disrupt question time in the
House of Representatives. The advice further indicated that this group would be
wearing garments that would prevent recognition of their facial features and possibly
their gender.[70]
On 19 October 2014 the Presiding Officers replaced these
measures with new interim measures involving the facial identification of
visitors upon entry to Parliament House, ‘thereby enabling persons with facial coverings to move from that point
freely into the public portions of the building, including the chamber
galleries’.[71]
Opposition motions
On 27 March 2014 the Opposition unsuccessfully sought to
move a motion of no confidence in Speaker Bishop, citing a number of grounds including
partiality towards government members.[72]
Subsequently on 26 May 2014 the Opposition unsuccessfully sought to refer
Speaker Bishop’s use of a dining room to the House of Representatives Standing
Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests.[73]
The Opposition also unsuccessfully moved that rulings of the Speaker be
dissented from twice in late 2013 and once in mid-2015.[74]
Resignation of Speaker Bishop
In mid-July 2015 controversy arose over Speaker Bishop’s
charter of a helicopter for travel between Melbourne and Geelong in early
November 2014.[75]
Media reporting suggested that the charter was for the Speaker’s attendance at
a Liberal Party event; the Speaker’s office stated that the charter was in
accordance with entitlement guidelines and related to a schedule of several
meetings in Victoria.[76]
It was also reported that the Speaker would reimburse the cost of the charter
with an additional 25 per cent loading. In late July Mrs Bishop apologised for
the charter and subsequently resigned as Speaker on 2 August 2015.[77]
Question
Time
House of
Representatives
On 13 November 2013 the Leader of the House, Mr Pyne,
introduced a number of changes to standing orders, including the
discontinuation of supplementary questions. Standing order 101 was amended to
omit the Speaker’s discretion to allow supplementary questions to clarify an
answer to a question during Question Time.[78]
The use of supplementary questions had been one of the reforms agreed under the
Agreement for a better Parliament during the 43rd Parliament.[79]
Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke MP (ALP, Watson, NSW) noted that the
Government, when in Opposition, did:
[not] find supplementary questions unacceptable, yet they
were so happy to stand up and ask them in this chamber at this dispatch box
only months ago. Never once in the last term of government did they say there
was a problem with being able to ask supplementary questions.[80]
The Coalition Government continued the time limits for
questions and answers at 30 seconds for questions and three minutes for answers
(SOs 100 and 104).
On 20 October 2015 Prime Minister Turnbull informed the
House that government members would trial a constituency question time to run
every sitting day as part of questions without notice. After five questions
have been asked by government members in the traditional way, further questions
would be addressed to Ministers by government backbenchers on matters of
interest to their local constituency. The trial commenced in the following
sitting week (9–12 November 2015) and continued until the end of the year.[81]
During the 44th Parliament there were 2,198 questions in
writing and 3,515 questions without notice in the House of Representatives.[82]
Senate
The Senate Procedure Committee raised two issues relating to
Question Time in its First Report of 2014. One issue related to a
temporary order that had been in place from 2009 relating to time limits for
questions. The second matter related to the Committee agreement that the
principle of proportionality should continue to govern the allocation of the
call in question time.[83]
The Senate subsequently amended
SO 72 to alter the time for asking of each primary question to
not exceed one minute and answers to them shall not exceed two minutes; two
supplementary questions shall be allowed to each questioner, each supplementary
question shall be limited to thirty seconds and the answers to them shall be
limited to one minute each and answers shall be directly relevant to each
question.[84]
In the Senate there were 4,946 questions without notice
(including 3,293 supplementary questions) and 2,211 questions placed on notice.
Suspensions
House of
Representatives
During the 44th Parliament the Speaker ordered members to
leave the House of Representatives on 524 occasions, an increase of 88.5 per
cent from the 43rd Parliament when 278 members were ejected. On eight occasions
members were named and suspended, 515 were ‘sin binned’ (ordered to leave the
Chamber under SO 94) for one hour, and one was ordered from the Federation
Chamber for 15 minutes.[85]
The 44th Parliament saw a record of 18 members ejected on a single day
(Thursday 27 November 2014) and the ejection from the Federation Chamber was
the first on record.
The vast proportion of disciplinary actions were ‘sin
binnings’, accounting for over 98 per cent in both the 43rd and 44th
parliaments. Most disciplinary actions occurred during and after Question Time
in the period from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Disorderly behaviour was more concentrated in the 44th
Parliament when 50 members accounted for all the ejections compared to 61
members in the 43rd Parliament.
Opposition members, irrespective of which party they
belonged to, have always accounted for the largest proportion of disciplinary
actions across all parliaments since Federation, at a rate of about 92.5 per
cent. During the 44th Parliament this proportion was 97 per cent. Since
entering the Parliament in 2007 Nick Champion MP (ALP, Wakefield, SA) has been
ejected on 80 occasions, the most of any MP. He was ordered out 70 times during
the 44th Parliament.
The 44th Parliament was presided over by Speakers Bishop and
Smith. Under Mrs Bishop’s speakership, 402 members were ejected at a rate of
about three per day, the highest of any speakership. One hundred and twenty-two
members were ejected by Speaker Smith at a rate of about two per day, the third
highest rate after Mrs Bishop and Peter Slipper MP (IND, Fisher, Qld). Table 1 below
shows the number of disciplinary actions taken in the last nine speakerships.
Table 1: Number and type of disciplinary actions taken
under each speakership from the 38th to 44th Parliaments
| Speaker |
Parliament
Number |
Named
but not
proceeded
with |
Named
and
suspended |
Sin
binned |
Total |
| Robert Halverson, 30.4.1996–3.3.1998 |
38 |
|
12 |
43 |
55 |
| Ian Sinclair, 4.3.1998–31.8.1998 |
38 |
|
3 |
15 |
18 |
| Neil Andrew, 10.11.1998–31.8.2004 |
39, 40 |
2 |
27 |
191 |
220 |
| David Hawker, 16.11.2004–17.10.2007 |
41 |
|
8 |
215 |
223 |
| Harry Jenkins, 12.2.2008–24.11.2011 |
42, 43 |
1* |
17 |
247 |
265 |
| Peter Slipper, 24.11.2011–9.10.2012 |
43 |
|
1 |
114 |
115 |
| Anna Burke, 9.10.2012–5.8.2013 |
43 |
|
|
66 |
66 |
| Bronwyn Bishop, 12.11.2013–2.8.2015 |
44 |
|
7 |
395** |
402 |
| Tony Smith, 10.8.2015– |
44 |
|
1 |
121 |
122 |
Source: Parliamentary Library estimates[86]
*The member was named but the
vote to suspend him was negatived
**Includes one member who was
ejected from the Federation Chamber for 15 minutes
In the Senate, the practice is very different and disciplinary
actions against senators for disorder are now very rare.[87]
Divisions
House of
Representatives
There were 431 regular divisions and 42 divisions with four
or fewer members on one side in the 44th Parliament.[88]
This is compared to 502 and 42 respectively in the 43rd Parliament, and 345 and
six in the 42nd Parliament. The average number of divisions per day (2.5) is
slightly higher than the average for the 1991–2011 period but lower than the
average for the 43rd Parliament (3.1).[89]
Table 2 below shows the voting patterns of crossbench
members of the House of Representatives and records the number of divisions
from which they were absent.
Table 2: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th
Parliament (by number)
| |
With Gov |
With Opp |
Absent |
Total |
| Bandt |
20 |
349 |
62 |
431 |
| Katter |
37 |
64 |
330 |
431 |
| McGowan |
108 |
226 |
97 |
431 |
| Palmer |
21 |
12 |
398 |
431 |
| Wilkie |
33 |
356 |
42 |
431 |
Source: Parliamentary Library estimates
Figure 1 below shows the crossbench percentage of votes with
the government and the opposition.
Figure 1: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th
Parliament (by percentage of votes)
Source: Parliamentary
Library estimates
Senate
There were 787 divisions in the Senate, with 668 of these
being held after the new senators elected in 2013 took their places on 1 July
2014. After senators Lambie and Lazarus left the PUP, on 24 November 2014 and
13 March 2015 respectively, their voting patterns changed noticeably (see Figure
2 below).
Figure 2: Voting patterns of PUP senators and Senators Lambie
(IND) and Lazarus (IND) in the 44th Parliament (by percentage)
Source: Parliamentary
Library estimates
Figure 3 below shows that senators Day (FFP) and Leyonhjelm
(LDP) voted with the Government more frequently than other crossbenchers, while
senators Muir (AMEP), Lambie (IND), Lazarus (IND), and the Australian Greens
were more likely to vote with the Opposition.
Figure 3: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th
Parliament (by percentage)
Source: Parliamentary
Library estimates
Legislation
Volume of
legislation
In the House of Representatives a total of 548 bills (511
Government and 38 private members’ bills) were introduced in the 44th
Parliament. In the Senate a total of 103 bills (21 Government and 76 private
senators’ bills) were introduced. In the 44th Parliament these bills resulted
in 379 Acts of which one was a private members’ Act.
Due to the finely balanced numbers in the Senate during the
44th Parliament, 39 Government bills were defeated in that Chamber. A number of
these were reintroduced to the Parliament at a later stage. As a result of the
Coalition’s majority in the House of Representatives there were no defeats of
Government bills in that Chamber.
In comparison to the 43rd Parliament, 187 fewer bills became
Acts in the 44th Parliament; see Table 3 below.
Table 3: Bills introduced in
40th to 44th Parliaments and total number of Acts
| Parliament |
Govt bills
introduced
in HoR |
Private
members’
bills
introduced in
HoR |
Govt bills
introduced
in Senate |
Private
senators’
bills
introduced
in Senate |
Total Acts
(private MPs’
Acts) |
| 40th |
537 |
44 |
24 |
52 |
427 (0) |
| 41st |
583 |
34 |
83 |
60 |
549 (3) |
| 42nd |
552 |
20 |
25 |
76 |
409 (0) |
| 43rd |
610 |
72 |
31 |
81 |
566 (6) |
| 44th |
511 |
38 |
21 |
76 |
379 (1) |
Source: Parliamentary Library estimates
Key: ‘Acts’ comprises Bills that
have passed both Houses, received assent, or been enacted
House of
Representatives—bills discharged and private members’ bills
Two Government bills were discharged from the Notice Paper
in the House of Representatives during the course of the 44th Parliament:[90]
One Government bill was laid aside (not pursued further) in
the House of Representatives during the course of the 44th Parliament:
When laid aside, this bill was a trigger for a double
dissolution election. However, this trigger was removed when the Minerals
Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2014 was introduced in
September 2014 and passed both Houses and became law.[91]
Thirty-seven private members bills were introduced into the
House during the 44th Parliament (see Appendix 1). The Parliamentary Service
Amendment Bill 2014, sponsored by Speaker Bishop, passed both Houses; the
rest were defeated.
One private members Bill, the Marriage
Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, was introduced by a group of
cross-party Members of the House of Representatives. It lapsed in the House of
Representatives at prorogation.
Senate—bills
discharged, private senators’ bills and double dissolution triggers
Four Government bills were discharged from the Notice Paper
in the Senate during the course of the 44th Parliament:
Seventy-six private senators’ bills were introduced into the
Senate during the 44th Parliament (see Appendix 2). Ten of those were
cross-party bills.
As noted above, 39 Government bills were defeated in the
Senate. Of these, 37 were potential triggers for a double dissolution election.
A list of bills in the 44th Parliament that may have met the requirements of
Section 57 of the Constitution is available on the Senate website.[92]
Of those 37 bills, three bills—the Building and Construction
Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No. 2], the Building
and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2], and the
Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2]—were
listed in the proclamation dissolving both Houses of Parliament on 9 May 2016
as the double dissolution triggers having met the requirements of Section 57 of
the Constitution. Further information on these trigger bills and
documentation associated with the double dissolution is at Appendix 3.
Crossbench
At the 2013 election support for minor parties and
independents reached record levels for both the House of Representatives and
the Senate. The election was distinguished by the extent to which sophisticated
preferencing strategies were employed by parties and candidates to optimise
their chances of success. In the Senate vote, the micro-parties successfully
negotiated with the major parties preference swaps (called harvesting the ‘above-the-line’
preferences) and managed to increase the number of crossbench senators to 18
out of 76.[93]
In the House the 21.1 per cent (primary vote) non-major
party support at the 2013 election broke the 20.4 per cent record at One Nation’s
first election in 1998 (the level of support for independents and minor parties
has been above 14 per cent (primary vote) at every election since 1996).[94]
However, this did not result in more crossbenchers being elected to the House
of Representatives; the 44th Parliament saw five crossbenchers sitting in the
House—one less than during the 43rd Parliament.
Non-major support in the Senate has always been several
percentage points higher than in the House. The level of 32.2 per cent primary
vote achieved at the 2013 election for the Senate surpassed 26.2 per cent in
2010. Minor party and independent support in the Senate has been above 19 per
cent at every election since 1996.[95]
During the 44th Parliament three senators elected as members
of micro-parties announced their intention to quit their parties and sit as
independents. These senators later announced their intention to form their own
micro-parties (see Table 4 below).
House of
Representatives
The Greens retained their sole seat of Melbourne (Vic.) when
Adam Bandt pushed his primary vote to 42.62 per cent—an increase of 7.03%. In Denison
(Tas.), Independent Andrew Wilkie increased his personal vote to 38.08 per
cent.
The other remarkable outcome was the only defeat of a
sitting Liberal member, Sophie Mirabella, by Independent Cathy McGowan, in what
had previously been a safe Coalition seat, Indi (Vic.).
Nationally, PUP secured 5.5 per cent of the vote for the
House of Representatives. In Queensland, PUP received 11.02 per cent of the
overall primary vote and outpolled Katter’s Australia Party (KAP) across most
seats. Clive Palmer himself stood for, and won, the House of Representatives
seat of Fairfax (Qld) by 53 votes, following a long and controversial re-count.[96]
Bob Katter was re-elected as the sole representative for the
Katter’s Australia Party, but suffered a 17 per cent swing against him in
Kennedy (Qld).
Senate
The so-called ‘preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery played a
key role in the election of micro-party representatives: Ricky Muir (AMEP,
Vic.) with only 0.51 per cent of the primary vote; and Wayne Dropulich (Australian
Sports Party, WA) with only 0.2 per cent of the primary vote. Dropulich
subsequently failed to win a seat in the rerun WA Senate election conducted in
April 2014.[97]
Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm (NSW) with 8.5 per cent of
the vote was elected amidst controversy over the party name, which it has been
suggested, voters confused with the Liberal Party and an advantageous spot on
the ballot paper.[98]
Family First candidate Bob Day (SA) was elected on 3.76 per cent of the primary
vote.
Following the 2014 rerun Senate election in Western
Australia the Greens won four Senate seats and 9.23 per cent of the national
vote, bringing their total number to 10.
One of the most remarkable stories was that of the PUP and
its leader Clive Palmer. PUP had planned to field candidates in all 150 House
of Representative seats at the September election as well as Senate teams in
all states and territories. In the Senate, former rugby league player Glenn
Lazarus won Queensland’s fifth spot, Jacqui Lambie won in Tasmania and Zhenya
Dio Wang won a seat following the 2014 Senate election in Western Australia.[99]
On 10 October 2013, AMEP senator-elect Ricky Muir announced
an alliance with PUP.[100]
The two parties aimed to work together and, where practicable, vote together in
the Senate.[101]
From the beginning of the new Senate on 1 July 2014 the
crossbenchers held the balance of power and therefore were able to block
legislation in the Senate when the Opposition did not vote with the Government.
The Government, holding 33 seats in the Senate, required six votes to ensure
the passage of measures in the Senate. The Government had to negotiate with the
crossbenchers, of which PUP (with the AMEP’s vote) was the largest voting bloc,
for legislation opposed by Labor or the Greens.
The Government did get some contentious legislation passed
through the Senate including the abolition of the carbon and mining taxes and
temporary protection visas but was blocked on other measures, including ‘$30 billion
dollars’ in savings from the 2014 budget.[102]
These savings included a proposed $7 GP co-payment, a six-month wait for
unemployment benefits for people under thirty and funding cuts, lower
indexation for pensions and deregulation for higher education. Other measures
blocked included the abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the
reinstatement of the ABCC (see Appendix 3).[103]
However PUP’s voting bloc was diminished as the alliance
with AMEP ended and members left PUP. By March 2015 PUP had reduced to one
member in the Senate, Senator Wang, following the resignations of Lambie in
November 2014 and Lazarus in March 2015.[104]
This unravelling of PUP meant that the Government was
required to negotiate with eight of the crossbenchers, if it did not have the
support of the Opposition or the Greens, to pass its agenda.
Table 4 below indicates when crossbench senators resigned
from the party they were elected to represent to sit as independents and
subsequently set up their own micro-parties.
Table 4: Senators sitting as independents and registering
new parties
| Senator |
Party
at 2013
election |
Date
moved to
sit as
independent |
Name
of new party |
Date
new party
registered |
| John
Madigan |
Democratic
Labour Party |
4
September 2014 |
John
Madigan’s Manufacturing and Farming Party (MFP) |
18
May 2015 |
| Jacqui
Lambie |
Palmer
United Party |
24
November 2014 |
Jacqui
Lambie Network (JLN) |
14
May 2015 |
| Glenn
Lazarus |
Palmer
United Party |
16
March 2015 |
Glenn
Lazarus Team |
9
July 2015 |
Source: compiled by the Parliamentary
Library
Committees
House of
Representatives
The Government elected to keep the number of general purpose
standing committees for the 44th Parliament to nine (down from 12 in the 42nd
Parliament)—albeit with minor changes in nomenclature, including the removal of
the Standing Committee on Regional Australia and the creation of the Standing
Committee on Tax and Revenue. The Government did however raise the number of
members permitted on each committee to 10 (six Government, four non-government
members) with the possibility to supplement membership by up to four members
(two Government, two non-government). This was a return to standard practice
after the 43rd Parliament had limited committee membership to seven (four
government, three non-government) with the added provision that if a
non-aligned member was appointed to a committee the total membership was
increased to eight. The permitted time for the Government to respond to
committee reports was kept to six months.
The number of committee reports presented during the 44th
Parliament, 319, was below the number presented in the 43rd Parliament (449)
but still more than the 187 reports presented in the 42nd Parliament.[105]
The number of committee reports presented is shown in Figure 4 below.
Figure 4: Number of committee reports presented by year from 1994
*Indicates election
year
Source: House of Representatives, Work of the session, 18 April to 5 May 2016, p. 31
Selection committee
The House of Representatives Selection Committee was re-established
in the 43rd Parliament with a wider role than that of Selection Committees
established in the 41st and previous parliaments.[106] In the 44th Parliament the
operation of the Selection Committee was changed. The Leader of the House
announced that the Selection Committee’s determinations could automatically refer items of private members’ business directly to or from the
Federation Chamber without the Speaker's involvement.[107] Another change
involved the composition of the Committee, with Mr Pyne stating:
We will not be continuing with the situation
where the Selection Committee has a majority of non-government members on it.
That would be unusual in a parliament where there are 90 government members and
60 non-government members. We will be removing the crossbench member from the
Selection Committee.[108]
Senate
During the 44th Parliament the Senate established 13 select
committees in addition to the eight standing domestic committees, two
legislative scrutiny committees and eight legislative and general purpose
committees.[109]
This number of select committees far exceeds the ‘ideal’ number of up to four
select committees referred to in Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice.[110]
A distinctive feature of the 44th Parliament was the number
of references to Senate committees. In the Department of the Senate’s Annual
Report 2014–15, the Clerk of the Senate, Dr Rosemary Laing, observed
that:
A larger and more diverse cross-bench stretched the
department’s capacity to provide procedural and legislative drafting support.
... After the July [2014] sittings, as chamber operations became more settled,
the focus moved to committees where new records were set in the number of
matters referred concurrently by the Senate to its existing committees and to
select committees established for specific purposes. Many inquiries were
generated by an increasingly active and influential cross-bench and “a Senate
inquiry” continued to be seen as a remedy of first resort for examining policy
change and program delivery, and for scrutinising government operations. ... around
70 concurrent inquiries [has become] the new average.[111]
In February 2016, Dr Laing provided an update to an
Estimates hearing, informing the committee that:
... there has been an average of three new references inquiries
for each sitting week for the whole of the parliament and two bills on average
per sitting day for the whole of the parliament. The economics committees
currently have 17 inquiries, followed by the legal and constitutional affairs
committees with 10. Overall, the Senate Committee Office is currently
supporting 83 separate inquiries, which is either a record or pretty near it.
This number does not include the work of the legislative scrutiny committees or
those joint committees whose secretariats are provided by the other side. ... Frankly,
I wonder where all this is heading.[112]
Figure 5 below shows the number of inquiry references and
bills inquiry references to committees in the 42nd, 43rd and 44th Parliaments.[113]
The total number of inquiries conducted in the 44th Parliament (352) was
greater than in the two preceding parliaments. There were 135 reference
inquiries in the 44th Parliament—over 50 per cent more than in either of the
43rd and 42nd parliaments.[114]
Figure 5: Senate Standing Committees – Comparison of inquiries
in the 42nd, 43rd and 44th Parliaments
Source: Figures compiled by the Department of the Senate
In comparing the figures for each parliament, it is relevant
to note that, because of the double dissolution in May 2016, the 44th
Parliament did not run to its possible full term. If the Parliament had not
been dissolved in May 2016, and the average of three references per week had
been maintained, the total number of references would have exceeded 135.
Estimates
committees
Changes to Estimates procedure resulted from motions moved
by the Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Senator Penny Wong. Several
of the motions were aimed at strengthening the rights of minorities in the
Senate. Some of these changes appear to have sprung from frustrations experienced
during the 2014 May Budget estimates hearings with hearings being closed down
early and senators prevented from continuing with questions to particular
agencies. The notices of motion which were passed made a number of
changes to the procedures of estimates committees as well as amending SO 26.[115]
The changes include providing for any three members of a legislation committee
to require a spillover hearing, either on the Friday of an estimates week or on
another day; an amendment to SO 26 allowing senators to continue with questions
on a program until all questions have been asked or senators agree to put them
on notice; orders of continuing effect requiring Senate ministers to table
information about the status of answers to questions taken on notice at
previous estimates rounds; and strengthening the accountability obligations of
officers.
Subsequently the Senate Procedure Committee was requested to
examine these changes and reported in March 2015.[116]
Composition
of the 44th Parliament by party and gender
Following the September 2013 federal election, the number of
women in the House of Representatives rose from 37 (25 per cent) to 39 (26 per
cent). When the new senators took their places on 1 July 2014, the number of
women in the Senate declined from 30 (39 per cent) to 29 (38 per cent). Overall
the number of women in Parliament rose from 67 to 68 (30 per cent).[117]
The table below shows the number and percentage of women in
the House of Representatives immediately after the September 2013 federal
election.[118]
The table also shows the number and percentage of women in the Senate as at 1
July 2014 and the total number and percentage of women.[119]
Table 5: Number and percentage of women by party in the
House of Representatives following the 2013 election and number and percentage
of women by party in the Senate as at 1 July 2014
| Party |
Men |
Women |
% Women |
| House of Representatives (2013) |
| ALP |
35 |
20 |
36.4 |
| LIB |
58 |
16 |
21.6 |
| NP |
14 |
1 |
6.7 |
| CLP |
0 |
1 |
100.0 |
| GRN |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| KAP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| PUP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| IND |
1 |
1 |
50.0 |
| Total |
111 |
39 |
26.0 |
Senate (1 July 2014)
| Party |
Men |
Women |
% Women |
| ALP |
11 |
14 |
56.0 |
| LIB |
22 |
5 |
18.5 |
| NP |
3 |
2 |
40.0 |
| CLP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| GRN |
3 |
7 |
70.0 |
| AMEP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| DLP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| FFP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| IND |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| LDP |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| PUP |
2 |
1 |
33.3 |
| Total |
47 |
29 |
38.2 |
Total for Parliament on 1 July following the 2013
election
| Party |
Men |
Women |
% Women |
| ALP |
46 |
34 |
42.5 |
| LIB |
80 |
21 |
20.5 |
| NP |
17 |
3 |
15.0 |
| CLP |
1 |
1 |
50.0 |
| GRN |
4 |
7 |
63.6 |
| PUP |
3 |
1 |
25.0 |
| Others |
7 |
1 |
12.5 |
| Total |
158 |
68 |
30.0 |
Source: J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition of Australian parliaments by party and
gender, as at 2 July 2014,
Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014
Ministry
Prime Minister Abbott received considerable criticism for
appointing only one woman to Cabinet and a total of six women in the ministry when
he announced his ministry in September 2013.[120]
In the 43rd Parliament in the Rudd second ministry, from 27 June 2013 to 18
September 2013 there had been six women in Cabinet and 13 in the total ministry
(31.0 per cent). In the Gillard second ministry in the period from 25 March to
27 June 2013 the number of women ministers reached a peak of 14 (33.3 per
cent).[121]
Prime Minister Turnbull appointed a further three women to Cabinet in his first
ministry bringing the total to five out of a Cabinet of 21 (23.8 per cent). As
shown in Table 6 below, the proportion of women in the ministry increased by
almost 10 per cent over the course of the 44th Parliament.
Table 6: Number of women in the ministry during the 44th Parliament
| Ministry |
18 September 2013 |
21 December 2014 |
20 September 2015 |
13 February 2016 |
| Cabinet |
J Bishop |
J Bishop
S Ley |
J Bishop
S Ley
M Cash
K O’Dwyer
M Payne |
J Bishop
S Ley
M Cash
K O’Dwyer
M Payne
F Nash |
| Outer Ministry |
M Cash
M Payne
S Ley
F Nash |
M Cash
M Payne
F Nash |
F Nash |
C Ferravanti-Wells |
| Parliamentary secretaries |
C Fierravanti-Wells |
C Fierravanti-Wells
K O’Dwyer
K Andrews |
C Fierravanti-Wells
K Andrews
A Ruston |
K Andrews
A Ruston
J Prentice |
| Women/total ministry |
6/42 |
8/42 |
9/42 |
10/42 |
Percentage of
women in the ministry |
14.2 |
19.0 |
21.4 |
23.8 |
Source: Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of
Australia, 2014; Commonwealth Government, various ministry lists
By-elections
and casual vacancies
House of
Representatives
Three by-elections were held during the 44th Parliament. One
was caused by the retirement of former prime minister Kevin Rudd who became
‘only the fourth former prime minister to have lost an election or the
leadership of his party and resigned from parliament shortly afterwards,
bringing about a by-election’.[122]
Former Treasurer, Joe Hockey, resigned to become the Australian Ambassador to
the United States.[123]
There were no by-elections during the 43rd Parliament, while
five were held during the 42nd Parliament.[124]
Table 7: By-elections during the 44th Parliament
| By-election date |
Division/State |
Member elected |
Party |
Previous Member |
Party |
Cause of byelection |
Date seat vacated |
| 8.2.2014 |
Griffith, Qld |
Terri Butler |
ALP |
Kevin Rudd |
ALP |
Resigned |
22.11.2013 |
| 19.9.2015 |
Canning, WA |
Andrew Hastie |
LIB |
Don Randall[125] |
LIB |
Died |
22.7.2015 |
| 5.12.2015 |
North Sydney, NSW |
Trent Zimmerman |
LIB |
Joe Hockey |
LIB |
Resigned |
23.10.2015 |
Source: Australian Electoral
Commission (AEC), ‘Federal elections’ and ‘By-elections & Supplementary Elections’, AEC website.
Senate
There
were nine appointments to the Senate, filling casual vacancies, during the 44th
Parliament. This compares with eleven in the 43rd Parliament and one in the
42nd Parliament.[126]
The resignations from the Senate in the 44th Parliament included those of
former ALP ministers John Faulkner and Bob Carr and Liberal Party ministers
Michael Ronaldson and Brett Mason. The latter was appointed Ambassador to the
Netherlands.[127]
Leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne resigned and Chief Minister of
the ACT, Katy Gallagher resigned from the ACT Assembly to take up a Senate
position.[128]
Table 8: Casual vacancies in the 44th Parliament
| Date of appointment |
State |
New senator |
Party |
Previous senator |
Party |
Cause of vacancy |
Date seat vacated |
| 13.11.2013 2.7.2014[129] |
NSW |
Deborah O’Neill |
ALP |
Bob Carr |
ALP |
Resigned |
24.10.2013 |
| 11.2.2014[130] |
Qld |
Barry O’Sullivan |
NP |
Barnaby Joyce |
NP |
Resigned |
8.8.2013 |
| 25.3.2015 |
ACT |
Katy Gallagher |
ALP |
Kate Lundy |
ALP |
Resigned |
24.3.2015 |
| 6.5.2015 |
NSW |
Jenny McAllister |
ALP |
John Faulkner |
ALP |
Resigned |
6.2.2015 |
| 21.5.2015 |
Qld |
Joanna Lindgren |
LIB |
Brett Mason |
LIB |
Resigned |
15.4.2015 |
| 19.8.2015 |
Tas. |
Nick McKim |
GRN |
Christine Milne |
GRN |
Resigned |
10.8.2015 |
| 22.9.2015 |
SA |
Robert Simms |
GRN |
Penny Wright |
GRN |
Resigned |
10.9.2015 |
| 9.3.2016 |
Vic. |
James Paterson |
LIB |
Michael Ronaldson |
LIB |
Resigned |
28.2.2016 |
| 28.4.2016 |
WA |
Patrick Dodson[131] |
ALP |
Joe Bullock |
ALP |
Resigned |
13.4.2016 |
Source: Parliamentary Library,
‘Senate vacancies’,
Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 44th Parliament,
Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014
Addresses
to the Parliament
There were four addresses to Parliament during the 44th
Parliament:
Table 9: Addresses to the 44th Parliament
| Date |
Name |
Position |
| 8
July 2014 |
His Excellency Mr Shinzo Abe |
Prime Minister of Japan |
| 14
November 2014 |
Rt Hon. David Cameron |
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 17
November 2014 |
His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping |
President of the People’s Republic of China |
| 18
November 2014 |
Mr Narendra Modi |
Prime Minister of the Republic of India |
Source: Compiled by the
Parliamentary Library
Ministerial
statements
An options paper published in a November 2015 Senate
Procedure Committee report acknowledged the importance of ministerial
statements, suggesting that:
Debates on ministerial statements can be among the more
significant policy debates that take place in a House.[132]
The paper noted that:
Ministerial statements are the traditional way of announcing
significant government policy developments, or of communicating matters of
ministerial responsibility to the Houses. The system of ministerial
representation that operates in the Commonwealth Parliament ensures that there
is an appropriate means for such statements to be made and/or tabled in both
Houses.[133]
The paper suggests that these principles are not always observed.[134]
In 2010 one expert observed that:
The Rudd government revived the worthy practice of
ministerial statements. This should continue, followed by a question period of 15
to 30 minutes. This would enhance both accountability and parliamentary debate
of important public issues.[135]
House of
Representatives
During the 44th Parliament 51
ministerial statements were made compared with 88 in the 43rd Parliament and
125 in the 42nd.[136]
In the 43rd Parliament the Agreement for a better Parliament had stated
that:
The Speaker will ensure that opportunities to respond are
provided to non-Government Members.[137]
In the 44th Parliament the most usual response was from
the relevant shadow minister. In six instances a number of members of the
government and opposition responded to reports and only one member of the
crossbench, Cathy McGowan (IND, Indi, Vic.), responded.[138]
On 26 March 2015 the House of Representatives agreed to a
new standing order relating to Ministerial statements:
63A Ministerial statements
When the House has granted a Minister leave to make a
ministerial statement, the House shall be deemed to have granted leave for the
Leader of the Opposition, or Member representing, to speak in response to the
statement for an equal amount of time.[139]
Senate
In the Senate 55 Ministerial Statements were delivered
during the 44th Parliament compared with 98 in the previous parliament.[140]
In November 2015 the Senate Procedure Committee tabled a
report that considered, in part, a process for the presentation and debate of ministerial
statements. The Clerk was asked to prepare an options paper on the issue.[141]
The report considered a process for the presentation and
debate of ministerial statements with the committee endorsing a number of
suggestions including that:
3. Governments be encouraged to present ministerial
statements to both Houses unless the statement concerns an issue of relevance
to one House only.
4. Governments be encouraged to provide information about
forthcoming ministerial statements in time for consideration by the Whips
meeting (for consultation on whether a statement should be presented separately
at the designated place on the Red).
5. Governments be encouraged to notify Opposition
spokespeople and crossbenchers in advance of particular ministerial statements.
6. Create a right for senators to move a motion to take note
of a ministerial statement without notice.[142]
The report recommended, in relation to point 6 above, that a
temporary order providing a right for senators to move, without notice, a motion
to take note of a ministerial statement presented other than at the commencement
of sittings, be tested for the remainder of the 44th Parliament.[143]
The recommendation was endorsed by the Senate on 11 November 2015.[144]
The report noted that, before this recommendation:
Ministerial statements have not been formally recognised in
the standing orders as an element of the routine of business at any time in the
Senate’s history, although they have been – and continue to be – informally
recognised on the Order of Business or Senate “Red”.[145]
Petitions
The petition with the greatest number of
signatures (1,210,471) since 1988, when the number of signatures was first
recorded, was presented in the House of Representatives on 26 February 2014.[146] The petition concerned
funding support for community pharmacies.
During the 44th Parliament, in the House of Representatives 263
petitions were presented (with a total of 1,734,366 signatures) and 193
ministerial response letters were presented.[147]
During the 44th Parliament there were 82 petitions presented
in the Senate.[148]
The Senate does not require ministerial responses.
Other
procedural changes
Use of
electronic devices
On 27 February 2014 the use of electronic devices in the
House of Representatives and the Federation Chamber was referred to the House
Procedure Committee to inquire and report.
In its report, tabled on 24 September 2014, the Committee
recommended that the House consider and adopt a resolution permitting the use
of electronic devices in the Chamber, Federation Chamber and committees
provided that:
- the use of any device did not distract other Members
- the devices did not interfere with proceedings and were not used
to record proceedings
- were not used to communicate private meetings of committees or in
camera hearings which would be considered a potential breach of privilege and
-
use should be directly related to the Members’ parliamentary
duties.
The Committee also noted that that communication via
electronic devices, whether in the Chamber or not, was unlikely to be covered
by parliamentary privilege; and that reflections on the Chair by Members made
on social media may be treated as matters of order just as any such reflections
made inside or outside the Chamber.[149]
The House adopted the Resolution on 26 March 2015.[150]
Children in
the House of Representatives Chamber
On 26 November 2015 the House of
Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure tabled a report, Provisions for a more family-friendly Chamber. The Speaker asked the Committee to consider the adequacy of
arrangements for proxy voting and whether a Member should be allowed to
breastfeed in the Chamber.
The Committee, while supportive of the continued use of the
proxy vote provisions, recommended:
that
standing order 257 be amended to add paragraph (d) as follows:
257
Admission of Senators and visitors
...
(d) A
visitor does not include an infant being cared for by a Member[151]
On 2 February 2016 the Leader of the House introduced
the necessary changes to amend SO 257 in order to allow infants to be brought
into the Chamber and Federation Chamber by Members. In a media release Mr Pyne
claimed:
No Member of Parliament, male or female, will ever again be
prevented from participating fully in the law making processes of Parliament
because they are also caring for their child.[152]
Appendix 1:
Private members’ bills introduced in the House of Representatives
Shading indicates
that the Bill became an Act
| |
Short title |
Sponsor |
Party |
| 1. |
Australian Education Amendment (School Funding Guarantee)
Bill 2014 |
Shorten |
ALP |
| 2. |
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment
(Restoring Merits Review) Bill 2014 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 3. |
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Regional Australia
Statements) Bill 2015 |
McGowan |
IND |
| 4. |
Credit Repayment (Protecting Vulnerable Borrowers) Bill
2015 |
Katter |
IND |
| 5. |
Criminal Code Amendment (Private Sexual Material) Bill
2015 |
T Butler
Watts |
ALP
ALP |
| 6. |
Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas
Service) Bill 2014 |
Bandt |
GRN |
| 7. |
Ethical Cosmetics Bill 2016 |
O’Neil |
ALP |
| 8. |
Fair Work Amendment (Prohibiting Discrimination Based On
Location) Bill 2015 |
Christensen |
NP |
| 9. |
Fair Work Amendment (Recovery of Unpaid Amounts for
Franchisee Employees) Bill 2015 |
Bandt |
GRN |
| 10. |
Flags Amendment (Protecting Australian Flags) Bill 2016 |
Christensen |
NP |
| 11. |
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic
Assets) Bill 2015 |
Katter |
IND |
| 12. |
Foreign Death Penalty Offences (Preventing Information
Disclosure) Bill 2015 |
Palmer |
PUP |
| 13. |
Gambling Harm Reduction (Protecting Problem Gamblers and
Other Measures) Bill 2014 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 14. |
Gambling Harm Reduction (Protecting Problem Gamblers and
Other Measures) Bill 2016 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 15. |
High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2013 |
Albanese |
ALP |
| 16. |
High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2015 |
Albanese |
ALP |
| 17. |
High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2016 |
Albanese |
ALP |
| 18. |
Imported Food Warning Labels Bill 2015 |
Katter |
IND |
| 19. |
Iron Ore Supply and Demand (Commission of Inquiry) Bill
2015 |
Katter |
IND |
| 20. |
Live Animal Export Prohibition (Ending Cruelty) Bill 2014 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 21. |
Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 |
Shorten |
ALP |
| 22. |
Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill 2016 |
Plibersek |
ALP |
| 23. |
Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 |
Entsch
Gambaro
T Butler
Ferguson
Bandt
McGowan
Wilkie |
LIB
LIB
ALP
ALP
GRN
IND
IND |
| 24. |
Migration Amendment (Ending the Nation’s Shame) Bill 2014 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 25. |
Migration Amendment (Mandatory Reporting) Bill 2015 |
Marles |
ALP |
| 26. |
Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australia Fund Bill
2014 |
Palmer |
PUP |
| 27. |
Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2014[153] |
B Bishop |
LIB |
| 28. |
Privacy Amendment (Protecting Children from Paparazzi)
Bill 2015 |
Katter |
IND |
| 29. |
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability
Amendment (Procuring Australian Goods and Services) Bill 2016 |
Katter |
IND |
| 30. |
Public Service Amendment (Employment for all of us) Bill
2014 |
Bandt |
GRN |
| 31. |
Renew Australia Bill 2016 |
Bandt |
GRN |
| 32. |
Renewable Fuel Bill 2016 |
Katter |
IND |
| 33. |
Sex Discrimination Amendment (Boosting Superannuation for
Women) Bill 2014 |
Bandt |
GRN |
| 34. |
Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Transparency) Bill 2014 |
Leigh |
ALP |
| 35. |
Tax Laws Amendment (Tougher Penalties for
Country-by-Country Reporting) Bill 2016 |
Leigh |
ALP |
| 36. |
Telecommunications Amendment (Giving the Community Rights
on Phone Towers) Bill 2014 |
Wilkie |
IND |
| 37. |
Tax Laws Amendment (Tougher Penalties for
Country-by-Country Reporting) Bill 2016 |
Leigh |
ALP |
| 38. |
Trade Marks Amendment (Iconic Symbols of National
Identity) Bill 2015 |
Katter |
IND |
Source: Chamber Research Office, House of Representatives Private Members’ Bills, House of Representatives Statistics.
Appendix 2:
Private senators’ bills introduced in the Senate
Note:
- The Table below only includes Bills introduced
after the opening of Parliament on 12 November 2013 and
- Party membership is noted at the day of the
Bill’s introduction.
| |
Short title |
Sponsor |
Party |
-
|
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Amendment (A
Stronger Land Account) Bill 2014 |
Siewert |
GRN |
-
|
Adelaide Airport Curfew Amendment (Protecting Residents’ Amenity)
Bill 2014 |
Wright |
GRN |
-
|
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Local
Content) Bill 2014 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and
Regional Advocacy) Bill 2015 |
McKenzie |
NP |
-
|
Australian Centre for Social Cohesion Bill 2015 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
Australian Government Boards (Gender Balanced
Representation) Bill 2015 |
Xenophon
Lambie
Lazarus
Waters |
IND
IND
IND
GRN |
-
|
Automotive Transformation Scheme Amendment (Securing the
Automotive Component Industry) Bill 2015 |
Rice
Simms |
GRN
GRN |
-
|
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Intergenerational
Report) Bill 2015 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Above the Line Voting)
Bill 2013 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Donations Reform) Bill
2014 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and
Other Measures) Bill 2016 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Reducing Barriers for
Minor Parties) Bill 2014 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Commonwealth Grants Commission Amendment (GST
Distribution) Bill 2015 |
Wang |
PUP |
-
|
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Country of
Origin Food Labelling) Bill 2015 |
Milne
Xenophon |
GRN
IND |
-
|
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Misuse of Market
Power) Bill 2014 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Corporations Amendment (Financial Advice) Bill 2014 |
Whish-Wilson |
GRN |
-
|
Corporations Amendment (Publish What You Pay) Bill 2014 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
Criminal Code Amendment (Animal Protection) Bill 2015 |
Back |
LIB |
-
|
Criminal Code Amendment (Harming Australians) Bill 2013 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Criminal Code Amendment (Misrepresentation of Age to a
Minor) Bill 2013 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Defence Amendment (Fair Pay for Members of the ADF) Bill
2014 |
Lambie |
IND |
-
|
Defence Legislation Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of
Overseas Service) Bill 2014 |
Ludlam |
GRN |
-
|
Defence Legislation Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of
Overseas Service) Bill 2015 |
Ludlam |
GRN |
-
|
Defence Legislation Amendment (Woomera Prohibited Area)
Bill 2013 |
Farrell |
ALP |
-
|
End Cruel Cosmetics Bill 2014 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment (Alpine Grazing) Bill 2014 |
Di Natale |
GRN |
-
|
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research) Bill 2015 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment Bill 2014 |
Ludwig |
ALP |
-
|
Fair Work Amendment (Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2015 |
Waters |
GRN |
-
|
Fair Work Amendment (Penalty Rates Exemption for Small
Businesses) Bill 2015 |
Leyonhjelm
Day |
LDP
FFP |
-
|
Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Australian Workers) Bill
2016 |
Cameron |
ALP |
-
|
Family Tax Benefit (Tighter Income Test) Bill 2014 |
Leyonhjelm |
LDP |
-
|
Flags Amendment Bill 2014 |
Xenophon
Madigan |
IND
DLP |
-
|
Food Standards Amendment (Fish Labelling) Bill 2015 |
Xenophon
Lazarus
Lambie
Whish-Wilson
Wang
Madigan |
IND
IND
IND
GRN
PUP
IND |
-
|
Freedom of Information Amendment (Requests and Reasons)
Bill 2015 |
Ludwig |
ALP |
-
|
Freedom to Marry Bill 2014 |
Leyonhjelm |
LDP |
-
|
Great Barrier Reef Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 |
Waters |
GRN |
-
|
Guardian for Unaccompanied Children Bill 2014 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Higher Education Support Amendment (New Zealand Citizens)
Bill 2015 |
Carr |
ALP |
-
|
Independent National Security Legislation Monitor
(Improved Oversight and Resourcing) Bill 2014 |
Wright |
GRN |
-
|
Interactive Gambling and Broadcasting Amendment (Online
Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011 [2013] |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
International Aid (Promoting Gender Equality) Bill 2015 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Landholders’ Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2013 |
Waters |
GRN |
-
|
Landholders’ Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2015 |
Waters |
GRN |
-
|
Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2014 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
-
|
Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2013 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Marriage Equality Plebiscite Bill 2015 |
Rice
Lazarus
Leyonhjelm
Lambie
Muir
Xenophon |
GRN
IND
LDP
IND
AMEP
IND |
-
|
Migration Amendment (Free the Children) Bill 2016 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Migration Amendment (Humanitarian Visa Intake) Bill 2014 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Migration Amendment (Protecting Babies Born in Australia)
Bill 2014 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Migration Amendment (Visa Maximum Numbers Determinations)
Bill 2013 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Mining Subsidies Legislation Amendment (Raising Revenue)
Bill 2014 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
Motor Vehicle Standards (Cheaper Transport) Bill 2014 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Tasmania)
Bill 2014 |
Urquhart |
ALP |
-
|
National Integrity Commission Bill 2013 |
Milne |
GRN |
-
|
Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill 2014 |
Siewert |
GRN |
-
|
Parliamentary Expenses Amendment (Transparency and
Accountability) Bill 2015 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
Amendment Bill 2015 |
Wong |
ALP |
-
|
Parliamentary Proceedings Broadcasting Amendment Bill 2013 |
Xenophon |
IND |
-
|
Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2014 |
Singh |
ALP |
-
|
Private Health Insurance Amendment (GP Services) Bill 2014 |
Di Natale |
GRN |
-
|
Racial Discrimination Amendment Bill 2014 |
Day
Bernardi
Leyonhjelm
Smith |
FFP
LIB
LDP
LIB |
-
|
Recognition of Foreign Marriages Bill 2014 |
Hanson-Young |
GRN |
-
|
Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2014 |
Di Natale
Macdonald
Leyonhjelm
Urquhart |
GRN
LIB
LDP
ALP |
-
|
Reserve Bank Amendment (Australian Reconstruction and
Development Board) Bill 2013 |
Xenophon
Madigan |
IND
DLP |
-
|
Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation)
Bill 2015 |
Leyonhjelm |
LDP |
-
|
Restoring Territory Rights (Dying with Dignity) Bill 2016 |
Di Natale
Gallagher |
GRN
ALP |
-
|
Save Our Sharks Bill 2014 |
Siewert |
GRN |
-
|
Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Consumer Lease
Exclusion) Bill 2015 |
Cameron |
ALP |
-
|
Social Security Amendment (Caring for People on Newstart)
Bill 2014 |
Siewert |
GRN |
-
|
Social Security Amendment (Diabetes Support) Bill 2016 |
Muir |
AMEP |
-
|
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Caring
for Single Parents) Bill 2014 |
Siewert |
GRN |
-
|
Stop Dumping on the Great Barrier Reef Bill 2014 |
Waters |
GRN |
-
|
Trade and Foreign Investment (Protecting the Public
Interest) Bill 2014 |
Whish-Wilson |
GRN |
-
|
Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Expanded Gold Card
Access) Bill 2015 |
Lambie |
IND |
-
|
Voice for Animals (Independent Office of Animal Welfare)
Bill 2015 |
Rhiannon |
GRN |
Source: Department of the Senate,
StatsNet website, Private Senators’ Bill from 1901.
Appendix 3:
Double dissolution triggers and the Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament
and related correspondence
At 9:00am on 9 May 2016 the Governor-General dissolved the
House of Representatives and the Senate by Proclamation. The Proclamation
dissolving the 44th Parliament is attached below, along with the following
related correspondence of 8 May 2016:
- Prime Minister Turnbull’s advice to the
Governor-General to dissolve the Parliament under section 57 of the Constitution
-
Attorney-General Brandis’ advice to the
Governor-General regarding fulfilment of the constitutional requirements for
dissolution and
- the Governor-General’s acceptance of the Prime
Minister’s advice.
The advice of the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General
cited the following bills as having satisfied the requirements of section 57 of
the Constitution:
- the Fair Work (Registered Organisations)
Amendment Bill 2014 and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill
2014 [No. 2]
- the Building and Construction Industry
(Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry
(Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2] and
- the Building and Construction Industry
(Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 and the Building and
Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013
[No. 2].[154]
In addition to these bills, the Clean Energy Finance
Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
(Abolition) Bill 2013 [No. 2] were also ‘trigger’ bills, having met the
requirements of section 57 of the Constitution. These bills, however,
were not cited in the advice of the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General to
the Governor-General. In late March 2016 Prime Minister Turnbull had announced
that the Government would retain the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.[155]
Double
dissolution triggers and the Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament and
related correspondence (PDF 354KB)
Appendix 4:
Conscience votes in the 44th Parliament
There were no conscience votes in the House of
Representatives or the Senate during the 44th Parliament. A number of same-sex
marriage bills, in which Labor members of parliament were granted a conscience
vote, were introduced into both Houses but none of these bills reached a vote.
The bills lapsed on the prorogation and/or dissolution of the Parliament.[156]
In the 43rd Parliament two same-sex marriage bills in the Senate and one in the
House of Representatives reached a vote.[157]
A summary of the same-sex marriage bills introduced in the 44th Parliament is
listed below.
Same-sex marriage bills introduced in the House of
Representatives
| Bill |
Sponsor |
Parties granted a conscience vote |
Result |
| Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 |
Bill Shorten (ALP, Maribyrnong, Vic.) |
ALP |
removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with Standing
Order 42 on 9 February 2016 |
| Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 |
Warren Entsch (LIB, Leichhardt, Qld), Teresa Gambaro (LIB,
Brisbane, Qld), Terri Butler (ALP, Griffith, Qld), Laurie Ferguson (ALP, Werriwa,
NSW), Adam Bandt (GRN, Melbourne, Vic.), Cathy McGowan (IND, Indi, Vic.),
Andrew Wilkie (IND, Denison, Tas.) |
ALP |
lapsed at the prorogation of the Parliament on 15 April
2016 |
| Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality)
Bill 2016 |
Tanya Plibersek (ALP, Sydney, NSW) |
ALP |
lapsed at the dissolution of the Parliament on 9 May 2016 |
Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library
Same-sex marriage bills introduced in the Senate
| Bill |
Sponsor |
Parties granted a conscience vote |
Result |
| Marriage Equality
Amendment Bill 2013 |
Senator Sarah
Hanson-Young (GRN, SA) |
ALP |
lapsed at the
dissolution of the Parliament on 9 May 2016 |
| Recognition of
Foreign Marriages Bill 2014 |
Senator Sarah
Hanson-Young (GRN, SA) |
ALP |
lapsed at the dissolution
of the Parliament on 9 May 2016 |
| Freedom to Marry Bill
2014 |
David Leyonhjelm
(LDP, NSW) |
ALP |
lapsed at prorogation
of the Parliament on 15 April 2016 |
Source: Compiled
by the Parliamentary Library
Appendix 5:
Floor crossings in the 44th Parliament
The table below shows the number of floor crossings by
senators in the 44th Parliament.[158]
During the 44th Parliament no members of the House of Representatives crossed
the floor compared with nine in the previous parliament.[159]
| Senator Name |
Issue(s) |
No. of floor crossings |
| Williams, John (NP, NSW) |
- in support of a crossbench motion on housing
affordability (18 March 2015)
- in support of an Australian Greens motion
calling on the Government to establish a royal commission into misconduct
within the financial industry. (24 June 2016)
-
in support of an Australian Greens motion
advocating a change in competition laws (the effects test) which would stop
big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015)
|
3 |
| Bernadi, Cory (LIB, SA) |
- co-sponsored a crossbench motion to amend the Higher
Education Support Act 2003 so that the Student Services Amenities Fee
could only be levied with the support of the majority of students at each
university campus in a mandatory ballot conducted once an academic year. (26
November 2015)
- against an amendment to the Tax Laws Amendment
(Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2015. The amendment required
that private companies with an annual income of $200 million and above
disclose their tax affairs (3 December 2015)
|
2 |
| Canavan, Matthew (NP, Qld) |
-
in support of a Family First motion on housing
affordability (18 March 2015)
- in support of an Australian Greens motion
advocating a change in competition laws (the effects test) which would stop
big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015)
|
2 |
| Abetz, Eric (LIB, Tas.) |
-
in support of a crossbench motion to amend the
Higher Education Support Act so that the Student Services Amenities Fee could
only be levied with the support of the majority of students at each
university campus in a mandatory ballot conducted once an academic year (26
November 2015)
|
1 |
| Back, Chris (LIB, WA) |
-
in support of a crossbench motion on housing
affordability (18 March 2015)
|
1 |
| Macdonald, Ian (LIB, Qld) |
- in support of a 2nd reading amendment to the
Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [No. 2] (9 July 2014)
|
1 |
| McKenzie, Bridget (NP, Vic.) |
- in support of an Australian Greens motion
advocating a change in competition laws (the effects test) which would stop
big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015)
|
1 |
| O’Sullivan, Barry (NP, Qld) |
- in support of a crossbench motion on housing
affordability (18 March 2015)
|
1 |
Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library
Appendix 6:
Further reading
Parliamentary
Library publications
Research papers
Politics and Public Administration Section,
The hung Commonwealth Parliament: the first year, Background note, Parliamentary
Library, Canberra, October 2011.
Politics and Public Administration Section, The
Hung Parliament: procedural changes in the House of Representatives,
Research Paper, 2013–14, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2013.
S Barber, House of Representatives by-elections: 1901-2015, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 4 April
2016.
H Gobbett, Parliamentary relations: political families in the Commonwealth
Parliament, Research paper, Parliamentary
Library, Canberra, 9 November 2015.
H Gobbett, Indigenous parliamentarians, federal and state: a quick guide, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, updated 11 April 2016.
R Lundie, 'So when is the next election?': Australian elections timetable as
at 1 September 2016, Research paper, Parliamentary
Library, Canberra, 11 December 2016.
R Lundie, ‘That’s it, you’re out': disorderly conduct in the House of
Representatives from 1901 to 2013, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 11 December 2013.
R Lundie, ‘That’s it, you’re out’:
disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 2016,
Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, forthcoming.
J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition
of Australian parliaments by party and gender, as at 2 July 2014, Research
paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014.
J McCann with D Heriot, Australia’s Parliament House—more than 25 years in the making! A
chronology, Parliament House website, updated 3
December 2013.
D McKeown, Chronology of same-sex marriage bills introduced into the federal
parliament: a quick guide, Research paper, Parliamentary
Library, Canberra, 21 July 2016.
D McKeown, R Lundie and G Baker, Crossing
the floor in the federal parliament 1950 – August 2004, Research note,
Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 10 October 2005.
FlagPosts
B Holmes, ‘Use of social media by MPs in the Chamber’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 24 September 2014.
S Fernandes, ‘Tweeting from the chamber’, FlagPost,
Parliamentary Library blog, 4 March 2013.
R Lundie, The electoral fortunes of MPs who left major parties and contested
the next election as Independents, FlagPost,
Parliamentary Library blog, 10 May 2016.
R Lundie, The
disputed 2013 WA Senate election, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 20
November 2013.
C Madden, Prime ministers and recent Liberal Party leadership challenges, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 15 September 2015.
D Muller, So you've been prorogued - common questions answered, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 23 March 2016.
D Muller, It's my party, FlagPost, Parliamentary
Library blog, 10 April 2015.
House of
Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure reports
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Use
of electronic devices in the chamber and the federation chamber, Department
of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 24 September 2014.
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Provisions
for a more family-friendly Chamber, Department of the House of
Representatives, Canberra, 2 December 2015.
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Maintenance
of the standing orders, Department of the House of Representatives,
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[63]. Ibid., p. 53.
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[79]. Agreement
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[86]. For further information and statistics see R Lundie, That’s
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[91]. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘Bills
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[94]. Note: Pauline Hanson was elected as an Independent in 1996.
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[96]. Australian Electoral Commission, Declaration of the poll in the electorate of Fairfax, media release, 31 October 2013.
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[107]. C Pyne, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, op. cit.
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[109]. These figures do not include Joint Committees that the Senate
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[110]. Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice, op.cit., p.463.
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[113]. The figures in Table 5 include inquires by References committees
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[118]. J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition
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[119]. Ibid.
[120]. P van Onselen, Women
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[123]. J Bishop (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Ambassador
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[125]. The last by-election held because of the death of a sitting
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[126]. AEC, op. cit., and Parliamentary Library, ‘Senate
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[129]. In October 2013 Senator Bob Carr submitted a double resignation
from his current term and from the term to which he had been elected, to
commence from 1 July 2014. The New South Wales Parliament filled the current
vacancy only. The vacancy commencing on 1 July 2014 was filled on 2 July 2014.
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[130]. Barnaby Joyce resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 to
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federal election. The casual vacancy for the state of Queensland was filled on
11 February 2014 with the appointment of Barry O’Sullivan.
[131]. Note: Senator Dodson (ALP, WA) was sworn in on 2 May 2016,
having been chosen by the Parliament of Western Australia, at a specially
convened sitting, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator
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[132]. Senate Procedure Committee, Third
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[134]. Ibid.
[135]. J Nethercote, ‘Bringing
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[136]. The Hung Parliament, op. cit., p. 22.
[137]. Agreement for a better Parliament, reproduced in the Hung
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[138]. C McGowan, ‘Ministerial
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[139]. Australia, House of Representatives, ‘Amendment
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[140]. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘General
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[141]. Senate Procedure Committee, Third
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[142]. Ibid., p. 1.
[143]. Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, First
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ministerial statement and for a senator to move without notice to take note of
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[144]. Australia, Senate, ‘Procedure—Standing
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[145]. Ibid., Attachment 1, p. 5.
[146]. J Prentice, ‘Statements
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[147]. House of Representatives, Work
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[148]. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘General
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[149]. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Use
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[150]. Australia, House of Representatives, ‘Proposed
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[151]. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Provisions
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[152]. C Pyne (Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Leader of
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[154]. Parliament of Australia, ‘Fair
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[155]. M Turnbull (Prime Minister) and G Hunt (Minister for the
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[156]. For more details on conscience votes and same-sex marriage bills
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[157]. Ibid.
[158]. For more information on crossing the floor see D McKeown, R Lundie
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[159]. See The Hung Parliament, op. cit., p. 54, for more details
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