Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The terms of the petitions and the responses will be recorded in Hansard. In my last statement to the House as Chair of the Petitions Committee, I spoke about the role and responsibility of members in petitioning. At this early stage of the 44th Parliament, it is useful to remind petitioners about the practicalities that enable them to have the benefits of the House's petitioning process. Today I will speak about the need for a principal petitioner and the rules for signatures.

When the House reformed its petitioning system in 2008, it introduced the requirement for each petition to have a principal petitioner. This person is the point of contact for the Petitions Committee secretariat and so needs to place his or her full name, address and signature on the front page of the petition that is sent to the committee. These details are not published in Hansard or on the committee's website but they help the secretariat to communicate with petitioners and inform them about difficulties or, hopefully, that the petition has been found to be in order or presented or responded to by a minister.

I would like to refer now to three requirements regarding signatures to petitions. As you know, Madam Speaker, members are often contacted by petitioners, and they and their staff are keen to assist them. But members cannot assist by being principal petitioners, nor can they sign petitions. Second, a person signing a petition must sign in his or handwriting unless they are physically incapable. In that case, another person may sign on their behalf. There is no need to add an address. Third, all signatures must be original and handwritten directly on a page that contains at least the request—the words describing the action that is sought. Signatures cannot be copied, pasted, transferred or added digitally, nor placed on blank page or on the back of a sheet containing the terms of that petition.

Sometimes petitioners worry when they see a signature that seems to be false. A certain cartoon character appears to support a variety of petitions to the dismay of some principal petitioners. Fortunately, it is long established practice that the whole petition is not invalidated because of this. There are more serious situations that can arise with false signatures, but they are rare. For today, I would simply commend prospective petitioners to look at the petitions committee's web page or to contact the secretariat for information and assistance with any of these measures. Thank you.