Reference of Bills to Committees

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit drew attention to its report entitled Tax Administration, presented in June 2008, and its recommendation that the Procedure Committee examine whether to include an examination of regulatory impact as part of the standard terms of reference for committee inquiries into bills.

This committee points out that senators, when moving for references to committees, may consider the inclusion where appropriate of an examination of regulatory impact in the terms of reference contained in their motions, and that committees when scrutinising bills may consider whether an examination of their regulatory impact is appropriate.

Senator Andrew Murray, before his retirement from the Senate, asked that this committee consider whether the Senate should have some mechanism for referring to committees bills which put into effect budget measures as soon as those bills appear, so that the committees may begin their scrutiny of those bills well before the Senate is called upon to consider them.  Senator Murray pointed out that the introduction of the budget in May is usually followed by two weeks of Senate estimates hearings and two non-sitting weeks, with the result that it may be several weeks after the presentation of the budget before the Senate can decide whether to refer the consequent bills to committees.

This committee points out that this problem may be overcome by the use of existing procedures.  The Senate already has processes for referring the provisions of bills to committees before the bills are received in the Senate, and there are precedents for committees being empowered by Senate resolutions to consider legislation emerging from specific proposals as soon as the legislation appears.  The Senate should be able to make decisions during the budget week about which legislation arising from the budget should be referred to committees, and the committees may then begin their inquiries as soon as the legislation is available.

The committee believes that it is important to maintain the principle that only the Senate may decide whether bills should be referred to committees, and it would not be desirable to adopt any procedure whereby bills may be referred without explicit authorisation by the Senate.

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