The role of petitioning provides Australian citizens and residents with their only direct voice to Parliament. This right to petition, facilitated through the Standing Committee on Petitions (the Committee), saw change in the 45th Parliament through the introduction of the e-petitions system, which has continued into the 46th Parliament alongside the ongoing tradition of paper petitions.
With this changing petitions environment comes new challenges to ensure the ability to petition remains accessible while maintaining a secure system in which all Australians may have confidence. With e-petitioning, the most popular method to petition the House of Representatives (the House), the Committee has largely assessed electronic security mechanisms within this report, while drawing out comparisons to paper petitions.
The Committee carefully considered how the user experience is affected by electronic security mechanisms, and their impact on the accessibility of the e-petitions system. In the course of its inquiry the Committee received submissions from a number of parliaments which operate their own petitioning systems, which has allowed the Committee to draw out valuable comparative insights on petitions security and accessibility.
A key concern raised during the inquiry was that additional security measures, such as the use of official records for verification purposes, would reduce the ability for some people who currently exercise this right. The Committee remains dedicated to supporting a petitions system which allows all Australians to petition the Parliament while balancing the need for security and accessibility.
I would like to express my thanks to my Deputy Chair, the Hon Justine Elliot MP, and to my colleagues on the Committee, for their ongoing support of petitioning in the House, and for their hard work and professionalism. On behalf of the Committee, I warmly extend my thanks to the inquiry participants who prepared submissions.
I commend the petitions process and this report to the House of Representatives. On behalf of the Committee I thank all Australian citizens and residents who continue to show an interest in lodging or signing a petition to the House.
Ken O’Dowd MP
Chair