SECOND REPORT OF 2008
The committee reports to the Senate on the following matter
referred to the committee on 18 September 2008 for further consideration.
Questions to chairs of committees and other senators
In its first report of 2008, the committee recommended that
the provisions in standing order 72 for questions to senators other than
ministers and to chairs of committees be abolished for a trial period. The
committee indicated that it would review this change to ascertain whether it
caused any inconvenience to the Senate or senators, before recommending whether
it should be adopted as a permanent amendment of the standing order.
The committee pointed out that the provisions in standing order
72 for questions to chairs of committees and other senators have rarely been
used in modern times, and, when they have been used, have not been used for
their intended purposes. The committee reported that question time should be
reserved for its primary purpose of questions to ministers.
After debate in the Senate, the recommendation was referred
back to the committee for further consideration. The main reason for this re-referral
of the matter was that Senator Bob Brown thought that the provision for
questions to senators other than chairs of committees should be retained.
Having considered the matter again, the committee remains of
the view that the relevant provisions now serve no useful purpose and should be
deleted from the standing order, on a trial basis subject to further review.
The committee points out that, under the explicit
restrictions imposed by the standing order, questions to chairs of committees
could not be used to interfere with the committee's work or to anticipate its
report, and that such questions were therefore confined to questions about the
progress of a committee's inquiry. Similarly, questions to other senators about
items of business of which they had charge on the Notice Paper could not be
used to anticipate debate on those items; such questions were therefore
confined to asking senators about their intentions in bringing on the items of
business for debate. There are ample opportunities for senators to ascertain
this kind of information without using a question at question time. The
provisions for such questions therefore remain unused for their original
purpose, and are only used rarely for some unintended purpose.
The committee therefore repeats its recommendation that the
amendments of standing order 72 contained in attachment 3 of its first report
of 2008 (attached also to this report) be adopted as a temporary order for the
remainder of 2008.
Senator Siewert would prefer to retain questions to senators
other than chairs of committees.
Alan Ferguson
Deputy President and Chair of Committees
Chair of the Procedure
Committee
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