Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the 3rd report of the Petitions Committee for the 45th Parliament. The report I present today is unlike any previous report tabled by the Petitions Committee. It is unique because it contains the first electronic petitions to be lodged through the House of Representatives new e-petitions system. I am very pleased to see members of the public embracing the new system, ushering a new age of the democratic tradition of petitioning into the modern world.

The new system supports petitioners to draft terms that align with the House standing orders and explains the steps involved in petitioning. It is the committee's expectation that the number of petitions found to be out of order will diminish as this system of e-petitioning becomes far more popular.

The ease with which petitioners have been able to gather signatures electronically, using the House's e-petitions website, streamlines the process of petitioning the House, and, along with the existing paper petitioning process, it provides further ways for the public to petition the House.