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Annual Report 2001–02Output Group 4: Interparliamentary Relations and Community Liaison4.2 Community Liaison
This output encompasses the provision of information about the House of Representatives (including about its members, procedures and practices); the facilitation of visits to the Parliament; and a community outreach program which aims to broaden community understanding of, and interaction with, the work of the House and its committees.
Outreach programThe Liaison and Projects Office (LPO) coordinated and delivered the outreach program in conjunction with the Executive, Table Office, Committee Office and Chamber Research Office. The Serjeant-at-Arms Office coordinated visits to the Chamber as well as an extensive school visits program. Various outreach initiatives established over recent years including a magazine, a seminar program and media liaison activities were developed further. New projects were implemented to provide greater opportunities for the community to find out about and engage with the work of the House, its members and its committees.
Publications for the communityThe About the House magazine remained a flagship for the department. Three issues were published during the year, rather than the usual five, because of the break in parliamentary sittings brought about by the November 2001 federal election. Community interest in the magazine continued to grow, with around 13,000 copies of each issue distributed around Australia. This compares very favourably with the 6,000 copies that were distributed when the first issue was produced in 1999. It is estimated that the readership of About the House is now about of 40,000 to 50,000 people, based on publishing industry calculations that each copy of any magazine is usually read by an average of three to four people. Feedback on the magazine About the House also continued to be positive. This included emails and telephone calls from government agencies, industry groups and members of the public, as well as comments from members of the House and their staff. Demand for the community guide Your Key to the House also remained high. The last of the 30,000 copies printed of the first edition was distributed, along with more than 6,000 copies of the updated second edition that was published in May 2002. During the year the House of Representatives Factsheets series of short publications about the House and its procedures was retitled Infosheets and reissued in a more modern and more professional format. The text of each Infosheet was updated and parts were rewritten to make them more easily understood by the general reader. In addition, two new Infosheets were produced, one introducing the Australian system of government and the other outlining the functions of parliamentary staff. For further information on the departments publications see Appendix 9.
Internet siteIn February 1995, the Presiding Officers announced the trial of a service to provide the public with electronic access to parliamentary materials via the internet. Since then, the website has grown and developed it now includes all material produced by the Parliament (but not tabled documents produced by other agencies). The Parliament of Australia website is now one of the most visited public sector websites in Australia. The growth of the website necessitated a review to determine whether its structure and content were serving the needs of clients, particularly in the general community. In 200102, the department contributed to such a review, together with other parliamentary departments. The review found that the basic structure of the site was sound but that the top page of the website needed to be revamped to assist visitors to find information, and some new material (such as a glossary of terms) needed to be added. A new design was developed and all parliamentary departments converted the existing material on the site to the new design. That work was undertaken during the election break, and the new site was ready in time for the Fortieth Parliament. The 7,000 web pages on the site were converted and tested by staff in each of the parliamentary departments. The new website was formally launched by the Presiding Officers on 20 March 2002. One of the new features on the House of Representatives part of the website is a House News page, which promotes and provides information about the activities of the House of Representatives and its committees. Through the page, visitors to the site will find a column called Hillside which publicises local stories and issues that members raise in the House during adjournment and grievance debates, and 90-second and three-minute statements. Most information about members, including the seating plans for the Chamber and Main Committee, is now provided via the House's website; any changes are updated within 24 hours. The list of members, which contains contact details, is generally not provided in hard copy; however, for members of the public who do not have access to the internet individual copies are either faxed or mailed. Informal feedback from members and messages sent to the webmaster both indicated a high degree of client satisfaction with the new site. Details of hits accessing the Parliament House site in 200001 are set out in Figure 8. The large number in May 2002 was a response to the announcement of the Budget.
Committee media liaisonThe continued employment of a media and communications adviser during 200102 maintained the departments commitment to promoting the work of parliamentary committees through the media. More regular and accurate media coverage of committee reports and activities, and positive feedback from the parliamentary press gallery regarding improved accessibility of information, demonstrated the continuing value of having a dedicated media resource for parliamentary committees.
AdvertisingThe established practice of placing a monthly advertisement in The Australian newspaper (on page two on the first Wednesday of each month, except January) was reinstituted once the sittings of the House resumed after the federal election. The advertisement provides consolidated information on new committee inquiries, upcoming public hearings and reports presented to Parliament. Committees were able to use this advertisement as an alternative to each committees placing its own, more costly individual advertisement for each new inquiry. This contributed to achieving better value for money in committee advertising. Each advertisement elicited a number of telephone calls and emails from the public. For example, the May 2002 advertisement, which included a notice for ordering About the House, resulted in more than 40 requests for the magazine. Guidelines were developed for committee staff, aimed at integrating advertising into a media and communications strategy for inquiries and achieving appropriate promotion of the work of committees. The guidelines will be piloted for three inquiries in 200203, and the results will be monitored.
SeminarsThe annual seminar program continued, with increasing numbers of participants and high levels of satisfaction among participants. It was a primary means for improving public servants understanding of the operations and procedures of the House and its committees, given that most participants came from Commonwealth Government agencies. Nine seminars were conducted in 200102: eight in Canberra and one in Melbourne. They ranged from a general overview of the House and its work to detailed explanations of the legislative, committee and budget processes of the House and the Parliament. There were 440 registrations, 40 more than in the previous year. Of those attending, 40 per cent completed evaluations, with more than 95 per cent of evaluations expressing satisfaction with the seminar attended. The average rating of satisfaction for seminar content was 8.1 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being poor and 10 being excellent). In their evaluations, participants provided positive feedback on the detailed content of the seminars, the delivery of material in an interesting way, the case examples that helped to bring the information to life and the involvement of members of the House. Participants valued the candid and engaging insights that members gave during their presentations. The evaluation process enabled presenters to get direct feedback on their presentations. Feedback that was received resulted in adjustments to seminar content and presentation styles. The seminar program was supplemented with a range of specialised seminars and briefings, including for international visitors.
University lecturesA new program of university lectures was developed to broaden contact between the House and tertiary institutions. Still in its formative stages, the program arranges for guest lecturers from the House, including members and senior managers, to make presentations to tertiary politics classes regarding the work and operations of the House. Three lectures were conducted. The participating universities were the Australian National University, the University of Canberra and the University of New South Wales. Each lecture involved senior managers from the department, with the Speaker and the Clerk of the House featuring as special presenters at the University of New South Wales. In addition, the Speaker made presentations at Griffith University and the University of Queensland. Each lecture received positive feedback from the academics and students involved, and return visits are anticipated for next year.
Centenary year 2001The Department of the House of Representatives celebrated its centenary year in 2001. As part of the departments own celebration the Clerk hosted a reunion of former and current staff of the department on 15 August 2001. The reunion took place at the Canberra Club with over 200 guests enjoying the evening, sharing many happy memories and rekindling friendships with colleagues. Institute of Public Administration of Australia Centenary Medals were presented to serving departmental staff Laraine Brennan, Andy Hall, Evelyn Kearns, Peter Mason, Paul McMahon and Jim Pender and former clerks of the House Jack Pettifer CBE, Doug Blake AM, VRD, Alan Browning and Lyn Barlin AM in June 2001. ProjectsThe production of A House for the Nation, a four-episode documentary and a CD-ROM on the history and development of the House from 1901 to 2001, was a demanding and challenging project. In addition to the input of parliamentary knowledge and expertise, the production required expertise to be brought into the department. A partnership was formed with the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff, a number of external contractors were used and many collecting institutions cooperated with the department on the project. The completion of the project was a high priority during the year, with the project launch in December 2001 providing an opportunity to begin the marketing of the products. Negotiations commenced on distribution and broadcast possibilities; some interest was expressed by a major publishing and distribution company, and by universities interested in using the products within their courses. The publication Images of the House The First Hundred Years was launched by the Speaker, the Hon. Neil Andrew MP, on 18 June 2002. Containing 250 images, this visual record paints a vivid picture of the people and events that helped shape the House between 1901 and 2001. It is presented in a very accessible format and includes photographs, sketches, cartoons, plans, paintings and portraits.
Visits to Parliament HouseIn 200102 the department, together with the Department of the Senate, continued to assist final year primary and secondary students to visit Parliament House through the Citizenship Visits Program (CVP). Under the CVP, students who travel more than 1,000 kilometres to visit Parliament House are assisted with a subsidy to visit Parliament and to participate in the Parliamentary Education Offices education programs. In 200102 15,422 students from 533 schools were assisted. Total expenditure for the CVP was $1.01 million. Figure 9 shows expenditure trends for the past seven years.
The overall number of students visiting Parliament House continued to increase. In the reporting period 106,509 students visited from 3,173 schools; 95,773 students from 2,805 schools had visited in the previous year. While the majority of students came from New South Wales and Victoria, a significant number travelled from Queensland, assisted by subsidies from the CVP. Table 6 shows the breakdown of all students visiting by state and territory (other students are those who were not part of an organised group). Table 6 School visitors from each state, 200102
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