Procedure Committee
Third report of 2015
The
committee reports to the Senate on the following matters discussed at its
meeting on 15 October 2015.
Ministerial statements
At the
request of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator the Hon Penny
Wong), the President referred to the committee, pursuant to standing order
17(3), a process for the presentation and debate of ministerial statements. The
committee had previously considered options for presentation and debate of
ministerial statements in the context of its long-running inquiry into the
routine of business. It tasked the Clerk with preparing a further options paper
which is published at Attachment 1.
The committee
considered the paper and endorsed the following suggestions:
- Ministerial statements continue to be included as a standard item on the
Red for those occasions when there is a desire to debate a significant
statement.
-
The practice of presenting routine ministerial statements with documents
handed in at the commencement of sittings continue, consistent with recent
attempts to streamline presentation and consideration of documents.
-
Governments be encouraged to present ministerial statements to both
Houses unless the statement concerns an issue of relevance to one House only.
-
Governments be encouraged to provide information about forthcoming
ministerial statements in time for consideration by the Whips meeting (for
consultation on whether a statement should be presented separately at the
designated place on the Red).
-
Governments be encouraged to notify Opposition spokespeople and
cross-benchers in advance of particular ministerial statements.
-
Create a right for senators to move a motion to take note of a ministerial
statement without notice.
In
relation to suggestions 1 to 5, the committee commends these practices to all
senators.
In
relation to suggestion 6, the committee recommends that a
temporary order providing a right for senators to move, without notice, a
motion to take note of a ministerial statement presented other than at the
commencement of sittings (pursuant to standing order 61) should be tested for
the remainder of the current Parliament. The terms of the proposed temporary
order are at Attachment 2.
Recommendation
1
The
committee recommends that the Senate adopt the temporary order at Attachment 2,
with immediate effect, until the end of the current Parliament.
The
committee also discussed whether the oral presentation of a ministerial
statement should continue to require leave, but agreed to defer consideration
of this matter until it had assessed the efficacy of the recommended temporary
order.
Publications Committee
The
committee received correspondence from the Joint Committee of Publications
seeking its view on a proposed change to standing order 22 establishing the
Senate Publications Committee. The correspondence is reproduced at Attachment
3. The proposed change brings the standing order in line with contemporary
practices for publication of documents in both printed and digital formats, and
with the terms of reference of the Publications Committee of the House of
Representatives with which it is empowered to meet jointly for the purpose of
undertaking certain inquiries.
The
committee considers that the proposed change to the standing order is
appropriate, and encourages the Joint Publications Committee in its efforts to
implement an electronic Parliamentary Papers Series.
Accordingly,
the committee recommends that standing order 22(3)(a) be amended to omit
reference to “printing”, so that paragraph (3) reads as follows:
(3) When sitting with a similar
committee of the House of Representatives, the committee shall also have power:
(a) to inquire into and report on
the publication and distribution of parliamentary and government publications
and on such related matters as are referred to it by the relevant minister; and
(b) to send for persons and
documents.
Recommendation
2
The
committee recommends that standing order 22(3)(a) be amended as follows:
Omit “printing,”.
Senator Gavin Marshall
Chair
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