Footnotes

Chapter 1 About petitions

[1]       House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, pp. 611-12.

[2]       House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 612.

[3]       Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[4]       Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 1.

[5]       See Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3 and Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5.

[6]       Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 1.

Chapter 2 Improving responses to petitions

[1]       See Appendix A for the relevant standing orders on petitions.

[2]       Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 1.

[3]       See Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3 and Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5.

[4]       It’s Your House, PP 363 (1999) p. 16.

[5]       Standing order 213(a).

[6]       Chamber Research Office, Statistics, July 2007. This has not however, enabled ‛debate’ in the sense that other Members have not responded to the concerns raised in the petition—be it in agreement or disagreement.

[7]       Standing Order 213(c).

[8]       Standing Order 215(b).

[9]       House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 618.

[10]     House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 618.

[11]     House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 619.

[12]     House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 619.

[13]     See David McGee, Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand, 3^rd edition, pp. 525-9.

[14]     House of Commons Procedure Committee, Public Petitions and Early Day Motions, May 2007, p. 15.

[15]     House of Commons Procedure Committee, Public Petitions and Early Day Motions, May 2007, p. 17.

[16]   Scottish Parliament, How to submit a public petition, available at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/publicInfo/documents/Howtosubmitapublicpetition.pdf, accessed July 2007.

[17]     Committee on Petitions, http://164.100.24.209/newls/parliamemtrycomintroduction/p22.htm, accessed July 2007.

[18]     See Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House, Submission no. 1, p. 9.

[19]     CWLA, Submission no. 2, p. 1.

[20]     Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 1.

[21]     Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 1.

[22]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 5; see also Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[23]     Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[24]   See motion by Mr Roger Price MP, HR Debates (16.2.05) 150, GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 5 and Mr Trevor Kerr, Submission no. 6, p. 1. Mr Kerr suggested that petitioners be allowed a ‛virtual’ presence.

[25]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 5.

[26]     Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 2.

[27]     CWLA, Submission no. 2, p. 1. See also Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[28]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 6.

[29]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 6.

[30]     Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 2.

[31]   Days and Hours PP 108 (1986), Ten Years On PP 91 (1988), It’s Your House, PP 363 (1999). See Appendix D for a synopsis of reports presented by the Standing Committee on Procedure on petitions.

[32]     It’s Your House, PP 363 (1999) p. 18.

[33]     Government Response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure “It’s Your House” p. 2.

[34]     See also section on ‛the House website’ in next chapter.

[35]     See also section on ‛Member involvement’ further below.

[36]   At the Commonwealth level, in addition to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, individuals can address a complaint to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the Migration Review Tribunal, the Office of the Commissioner for Complaints (for complaints about Commonwealth funded aged care services), the Privacy Commissioner, the Refugee Review Tribunal, the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Veteran’s Review Board. Each State and Territory also has an Ombudsman and various other review agencies to address matters within the competencies of the States and Territories. See http://www.comb.gov.au/commonwealth/publish.nsf/Content/home.

[37]     Standing orders 209(b) and (c).

[38]     Standing order 208(a).

[39]     In accordance with standing order 209(b).

[40]     In accordance with standing order 209(c).

[41]     Standing order 208(b).

[42]      Standing order 209(a).

[43]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1 p. 6.

[44]     CWLA, Submission no. 2, p. 1.

[45]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 5.

[46]     Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[47]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 6.

[48]     HR Debates (28.6.2001) 29022; (26.9.2002) 7430-1; (20.3.2003) 13121.

[49]     HR Debates (27.3.2003) 13928-30; (18.9.2003) 20583-5.

[50]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 7.

[51]     Standing order 205(g).

[52]     Days and Hours, PP 108 (1986), p. 38.

[53]    Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 3. The submission notes the practice of Members circulating petitions with the terms of the prayer, provision for signatures, and instructions that the lines showing the sponsorship be cut off or that the covering sheet be removed once the signatures have been obtained.

[54]     See, for example, HR Deb (21.6.07) p.118, HR Deb (29.5.07) p.121, HR Deb (11.9.06) p.135, HR Deb (20.06.06) p.117, HR Deb (22.05.06) p.130, HR Deb (28.02.06) p.104.

Chapter 3 Relevant and fair rules

[1]       Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[2]       See Appendix E for a comparison of these rules with those in other Australian jurisdictions.

[3]       House of Representatives Practice, 5^th edition, p. 613.

[4]       12 to 21 June 2007.

[5]       HR Debates (19.5.1988) 2674.

[6]       Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 3.

[7]       http://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/05%20About%20Parliament/57%20Education%20Resources/571%20Infosheets/PDF/is11.ashx

[8]       GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 6. At present, a petitioner would need to know to look under the heading ‛The House at Work’ from the House of Representatives main page.

[9]       GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 6.

[10]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 4.

[11]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 4.

[12]     CWLA Submission no. 2, p. 1.

[13]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 4.

[14]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 4.

[15]     Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[16]     Ms Rosalind Berry, Submission no. 5, p. 2; GetUp Submission no. 4, p. 2.

[17]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 2.

[18]     The Constitution, Section 50.

[19]   Media commentators, including Radio National’s Fran Kelly, have recently remarked on the political potency of internet petition campaigns. See for example, Insiders, ABC Television – 15.07.07 http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2007/s1978836.htm.

[20]     See http://petitions.pm.gov.uk.

[21]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 19.

[22]    ‛E-Petitions’ available at: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/EPetitions_QLD/HTML/InformationBrochure.pdf, accessed 6 July 2007.

[23]    See ‛e-Democracy in Queensland’ available at: http://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/be_informed/democracy/edemocracy.html.

[24]   The public are advised that any breach of these conditions amounts to a contempt of parliament which is a punishable offence.

[25]    These contact details are not made publicly available on the website, but are kept by the Queensland Parliament’s Table Office.

[26]     Mr Phillip Grimshaw, Submission no. 7, p. 7.

[27]     Tasmanian House of Assembly, standing order 73.

[28]     J. Wakefield, ‛Petitioning the Parliament by mouse’ BBC News, September 2005.

[29]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 2.

[30]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 2.

[31]     See for example CWLA, Submission no. 2, p. 1.

[32]     GetUp, Submission no. 4, p. 3.

[33]     Mr Phillip Grimshaw, Submission no. 7, p. 4.

[34]     Mr IC Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Submission no. 1, p. 12.

[35]     Miss Margaret Clinch, Submission no. 3, p. 2.

[36]     It’s Your House, PP 363 (1999) pp. 13.

[37]     It’s Your House, PP 363 (1999) pp. 12-13.

[38]     HR Debates (9.8.2005) 21.

Appendix B Historical development

[1]       ‛From the history of petition law’, http://www.landtag.sachsen.de, accessed August 2007

[2]       Lex Heerma Van Voss, Petitions in Social History, 2002, p. 1.

[3]       Sir Gilbert Campion, An Introduction to the Procedure of the House of Commons, 1947, p. 11.

[4]       Sir Gilbert Campion, An Introduction to the Procedure of the House of Commons, 1947, p. 11.

[5]       Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 23^rd edition, p. 969.

[6]       Lex Heerma Van Voss, Petitions in Social History, p. 1.

[7]       Journals of the House of Commons, vol. i, pp 805-6, cited in John Hatsell, Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, vol  I, p. 299.

[8]       Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 23^rd edition, p. 933. See also House of Representatives Practice, 1^st edition, p. 689. These resolutions were part of a group, the remainder of which related to a serious quarrel between the Houses. The whole group was later expunged from the Journal of the House at the request of the King. There is no indication that the resolutions themselves were rescinded by the House. The words are recorded in John Hatsell, Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, 1818, vol. 3, p. 240, citing Grey’s Debates, Vol. I. p. 209].

[9]       Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 23^rd edition, p. 932.

[10]     John Hatsell, Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, 1818, vol. 3, p. 240.

[11]     Lex Heerma Van Voss, Petitions in Social History, 2002, p. 3.

[12]     Charles Tilly, Popular Contention in Great Britain 1758-1834, 1995, p. 160.

[13]     Lex Heerma Van Voss, Petitions in Social History, 2002, p. 4

[14]     ‛That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal.’

Appendix D Previous inquiries on petitions

[1]       Days and hours of sitting and the effective use of the time of the House PP 108 (1986).

[2]       The ringing of bells and the Chamber precincts in the New Parliament House Certification of petitions not in the English language PP 149 (1988).

[3]       House of Representatives,Votes and Proceedings, 4 May 1989, p. 1163.

[4]       Responses to petitions PP 267 (1990).

[5]       Responses to petitions PP 267 (1990) p. 7.

[6]       Responses to petitions PP 267 (1990) p. 9.

[7]       About time: Bills, questions and working hours—Inquiry into the reform of the House of Representatives PP 194 (1993).

[8]       Review of reports of previous procedure committees which have not received a Government response PP 350 (1996).

[9]       Ten years on A review of the House of Representatives committee system PP 91 (1998).

[10]     It’s your house: Community involvement in the procedures and practices of the House of Representatives and its committees PP 363 (1999).

[11]     http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/reports/cominv/index.htm

Government Response pp. 1-2, accessed 6 July 2007.

[12]     http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/reports/cominv/index.htm

Government Response pp. 1-2, accessed 6 July 2007.

[13]     Learning from other parliaments: Study Program 2006 PP 179 (2006).

Comments to: The Secretary of the Committee on PH: or FAX:
or e-mail:
Last reviewed October 4, 2012 by Committee Secretariat
© Commonwealth of Australia
Parliament of Australia Web Site Privacy Statement