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Standing Orders
Chapter 8 - Sittings, quorum and adjournment of the
senate
49 Meeting of Senate
The bells shall be rung for 5 minutes prior
to the time appointed for a meeting of the Senate, and the President shall then
take the chair.
50 Prayer
The President, on taking the chair each day,
shall read the following prayer:
Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to
vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon this Parliament, and that Thou wouldst be
pleased to direct and prosper the work of Thy servants to the advancement of
Thy glory, and to the true welfare of the people of Australia.
Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be
Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give
us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them
that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from
evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and
ever. Amen.
51 Quorum at commencement of sitting
(1) If there is not a quorum present
when the chair is taken at the time appointed for a meeting of the Senate, the
bells shall be again rung for 5 minutes, and if there is still not a quorum
present the President shall adjourn the Senate to the next sitting day.
(2) A senator having entered the chamber
at or after the time appointed for the meeting of the Senate shall not withdraw
until a quorum is formed or the Senate adjourned.
52 Quorum during sitting
(1) If it appears, on the report of a
division of the Senate by the tellers, that a quorum is not present, the
President shall adjourn the Senate till the next sitting day; and no decision
of the Senate shall be considered to have been arrived at by such division.
(2) When the President is informed by
the Chairman of Committees that a quorum is not present, the bells shall be
rung for 4 minutes; the President shall then count the Senate, and if no quorum
is then present, shall adjourn the Senate till the next sitting day; but if a
quorum is then present, the President shall leave the chair and the committee resume.
(3) If a senator draws attention to the
lack of a quorum, the bells shall be rung for 4 minutes; the President shall
then count the Senate, and, if a quorum is not present, shall adjourn the
Senate till the next sitting day.
(4) When the attention of the President,
or of the Chairman of Committees, has been called to the absence of a quorum, a
senator shall not leave the chamber until the Senate has been counted by the
President.
(5) The doors of the Senate shall be
unlocked when the President is counting the Senate.
(6) When the Senate is adjourned for
lack of a quorum the names of the senators present shall be entered in the
Journals.
(7) Time taken to form
a quorum shall not be regarded as part of the amount of time allowed for a
senator to speak in a debate or ask a question or for a debate.
(amended 13 February
1997)
53 Adjournment of Senate
(1) Except where the standing orders
provide for the President to adjourn the Senate without putting a question, the
Senate can be adjourned only by its own resolution.
(2) The adjournment of the Senate may be
moved at any time by or on behalf of a minister.
(3) The motion for the adjournment of
the Senate may not be amended.
(4) On the question for the adjournment
of the Senate matters not relevant to the question may be debated.
54 Adjournment without motion
(1) At the time specified for each
sitting day, the President shall propose the question that the Senate do now
adjourn, and that question shall be open to debate.
(2) If the Senate is in committee at
that time, the chairman shall leave the chair and report to the Senate, and on
such a report being made the President shall forthwith propose the question
that the Senate do now adjourn, and that question shall be open to debate.
(3) If the Senate or the committee is in
division at that time the President shall not propose that question or the
chairman leave the chair till the result of the division has been declared.
(4) If the
consideration of government documents under standing order 61 or the
consideration of committee reports under standing order 62(1) concludes before
the expiration of the times provided, the question for the adjournment shall
then be proposed.
(5) Except on
Tuesday debate on the question for the adjournment shall not exceed
40 minutes, and a senator shall not speak to that question for more than
10 minutes on any day. On Tuesday at the conclusion of debate, and on other
days at the expiration of 40 minutes, at the conclusion of debate, or at the
time specified for adjournment, whichever is the earlier, or if there is no
debate, the President shall adjourn the Senate without putting the question.
(6) On the question for the adjournment
of the Senate on Tuesday, a senator who has spoken once subject to the time
limit of 10 minutes may speak again for not more than 10 minutes if no other
senator who has not already spoken once wishes to speak, provided that a
senator may by leave speak for not more than 20 minutes on one occasion.
(amended 13 February
1997, 7 December 1998, 28 August 2002, 10 March 2009)
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