Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, I present the 15th report of the Petitions Committee for the 45th Parliament, together with 29 petitions and three ministerial responses to petitions previously presented.

The Petitions Committee is heartened to see that Australians from all across the country are raising their collective voices by petitioning the House about issues that matter to them and to their communities.

The petitions that I present to the House today include eight paper petitions and 21 electronic petitions. The topics of these petitions encompass community concerns about issues including electricity prices, same-sex marriage, family violence and tertiary education. To demonstrate the spectrum of views presented in petitions put before the Petitions Committee, I present petitions today which reflect both sides of the climate change debate.

This report includes three petitions the committee has received about climate change, coordinated by a group called Micah, a coalition of churches and Christian organisations. These petitions are identical, except that they originate from different electorates around Australia. The committee has received 15 of these petitions to date, containing a total of over 13,000 signatures, which will all be referred to the environment minister for response.

This initiative is a great example of individuals and communities joining together to engage with the parliament about a matter that they care deeply about.

The committee wants to help Australians to better connect with the petitions process, by making it easier for them to petition the House online.

To this end, the committee continues to seek feedback from petitioners and other stakeholders, for its inquiry into the House electronic petitions system.

I am pleased to report that the committee received more than 100 responses to the survey launched in the last week, on the committee's webpage. These survey responses will prove extremely valuable, as the committee formulates its recommendations for future enhancements to the e-petitions process.

I will continue to provide updates to the House on the work of the Petitions Committee and the inquiry into e-petitions.

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