Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the 17th report of the Petitions Committee for the 46th Parliament, comprising 17 ministerial responses to petitions previously presented. The presentations contain no new petitions due to the unique cycle of the petitioning process, but be assured that petitioning the House is still very much active for our democracy and has been since the 13th century. Petitions are no longer received on parchment as they were then. Most are now received electronically in a format that our forefathers would never have envisioned possible.

There are currently 80 e-petitions open for collecting signatures on the petition website which are scheduled to be presented by me, the chair, in the next sitting period. More are scheduled to be considered by the committee when we meet this week. Most petitions now receive a response from the ministers responsible on the matters raised, some of which are included in the report today. Responses are important because of the petitioning process, and the committee continues to be grateful for the ongoing support from the ministers and their officers in providing these in a timely way and for their continued involvement. Thank you, and I look forward to further updating the House on the work of the committee in doubt course.