John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we start the parliamentary year I will open with some basic refreshers on the House petitioning requirements, and the timing constraints on petitions in this last year of the 43rd parliament. Speaker, as you know, petitions must be prepared with care because the House has rules which govern petitions and which the Petitions Committee uses to assess petitions for compliance. These help to ensure the authenticity of petitions and protect those who sign them.

I will now outline the basic requirements—further information is available through the Committee's website, the secretariat and members' offices. A petition to the House must:

A petition must meet these rules:

Given we expect the House will be dissolved in August, this means that there are five further opportunities for petitions to be presented at this time by me in my capacity as chair. Therefore, not only is it important for petitioners to be conscious of the rules surrounding petitioning; they should also be conscious of the time constraints of the parliamentary calendar, the timing of their signature collection and delivery of the petition to the committee. Petitions cannot be assessed, presented or referred to a minister during a parliamentary recess or caretaker period. But a petition does not lapse; it will be received and held for assessment when sittings recommence. Thus, petitions received after the committee's last meeting in the 43rd Parliament will be tabled in the House after assessment by the committee of the 44th Parliament some months later.

These timing constraints obviously also apply to members who may present compliant petitions at certain times. I therefore urge all members who receive petitions to deliver them to the committee for processing as soon as possible; and, if they choose to present a petition, to do so as quickly as practicable after it has been certified. The timing of presentation is important, because the most significant follow-up action—a referral to a minister—can only occur after a petition is presented. Therefore, if a member finds that they are no longer able to present a petition, they should return to the committee so it can be presented in this regular presentation timeslot on sitting Mondays.

With the remainder of this parliament providing a shorter period for a petition to go through its cycle of assessment, presentation, referral and, finally, the tabling of a ministerial response, petitioners need to be aware that some petitions prepared in the 43rd Parliament may not be tabled or responded to in this parliament. So the key message is to prepare and submit petitions early.

I take this opportunity to wish all members of the Chinese community a happy Chinese New Year in the Year of the Snake. Kung hei fat choy.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his cultural awareness of a rather large, important event for the Chinese community over the weekend.