Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This report is unusually short, simply because of the cycle of petitions opening and closing for signatures, combined with the dates of parliamentary sittings.

There is an important matter that I'd like to note to the House today concerning signatures on petitions. There are several rules about who can sign a petition to this House. In particular, standing order 205A(e) makes it clear that each signatory to an e-petition must confirm they are either a resident or a citizen of Australia. The petitions website requires people to check a box declaring that they are a resident or a citizen before they can sign an e-petition.

The Petitions Committee has become aware that one e-petition that closed recently may have been signed by a number of people who are neither a resident nor a citizen of Australia. The committee takes this matter seriously and will note it when that petition is referred to the relevant minister.

The citizen's right to petition parliament has a long tradition, one that the Australian parliament inherited from the United Kingdom. The House has a system of petitions and ministerial responses, and the Petitions Committee facilitates this process.

Electronic petitions enable many Australians to engage with petitions on issues of concern to them. With global social media, it is understandable that people who are not residents or citizens of Australia may become aware of a House petition and wish to express their support for it. They may also have experience in signing other types of e-petitions that are not House petitions. But making a false declaration of citizenship or residency in order to sign a House petition is dishonest and contravenes the standing orders, and this is not going to help the petitioners' cause.

As I have said in this place previously, the committee accepts that principal petitioners cannot be responsible for the actions of every person in connection with their petition over the signature collection period. However, I urge principal petitioners to remind supporters to adhere to the standing orders and to only sign if they are eligible to do so. By all means, promote your petition, but, if you seek to use the official petitions process, the House will expect petitioners to comply with the standing orders.

Finally, the committee continues to believe that the vast majority of people who engage with the House petitions process do so in good faith and in accordance with the rules. I thank the House.

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