Standing Committee on Petitions

The Standing Committee on Petitions is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives responsible for the processing of petitions addressed to the House of Representatives.[1] The committee is governed by Standing Order 220 and consists of eight members, five government members and three non-government members. The chair is appointed by the Prime Minister and the deputy chair by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 232.[2]

Standing Committee on Petitions
47th Parliament of Australia
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Susan Templeman, Labor
since 2 August 2022
Deputy Chair
Ross Vasta, Liberal National
since 2 August 2022
Structure
Seats8
Political groups
Government (5)
  •   Labor (5)

Opposition (3)

Meeting place
Parliament House
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Australia
Website
Standing Committee on Petitions
Rules
Standing Orders of the House of Representatives

History

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The Procedure Committee undertook a study tour of other parliaments in 2006, resulting in a report which, among other things noted the potential value in the establishment of a Petitions Committee modelled on the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament.[3] This was followed by a further report of the Procedure Committee in September 2007 formally recommending the creation of a Petitions Committee.[4] in 2008 the Rudd Government amended standing orders establishing a Standing Committee on Petitions for the first time.[5]

Membership

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47th Parliament

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In the 47th parliament (July 2022 – present), the membership of the committee is the following:[6]

Member Party Electorate
Susan Templeman Chair Labor Division of Macquarie, Queensland
Ross Vasta Deputy Chair Liberal National Division of Bonner, Queensland
Sam Birrell Nationals Division of Nicholls, Victoria
Alison Byrnes Labor Division of Cunningham, New South Wales
Lisa Chesters Labor Division of Bendigo, Victoria
Garth Hamilton Liberal National Division of Groom, Queensland
Tracey Roberts Labor Division of Pearce, Western Australia
Meryl Swanson Labor Division of Paterson, New South Wales

46th Parliament

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In the 46th parliament (July 2019 – April 2022), the membership of the committee was as follows:

Member Party Electorate
Llew O'Brien Chair Liberal National Division of Wide Bay, Queensland

List of Inquiries

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Parliament Reference date Report title Tabled date
42nd 4 June 2008 Electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives [7] 16 November 2009
12 February 2008 The work of the first Petitions Committee: 2008-2010[8] 21 June 2010
43rd 25 October 2010 The work of the Petitions Committee: 2010-2013 - An established part of the democratic process[9] 24 June 2013
44th 4 December 2013 The work of the Petitions Committee: 2013-2016 [10] 5 May 2016
45th 24 May 2017 Making voices heard: Inquiry into the e-petitioning system of the House of Representatives Petitions Committee[11] 29 May 2018[12][13]
15 August 2018 Your voice can change our future: Inquiry into the future of petitioning in the House 21 February 2019
46th 9 December 2020 Report on the inquiry into aspects of petitioning security and accessibility 24 June 2021
47th No current inquiries

List of Chairs

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No. Parliament Chair Term Deputy
1 42nd Julia Irwin 12 February 2008

19 July 2010[14]
Russell Broadbent[15]
2 43rd John Murphy 25 October 2010

5 August 2013[16]
Dennis Jensen[17]
3 44th Dennis Jensen 4 December 2013

9 May 2016[17]
Justine Elliot[18]
4 45th Ross Vasta 14 September 2016

21 June 2017[19]
5 Lucy Wicks 21 June 2017

11 April 2019[11]
6 46th Llew O'Brien 24 July 2019

24 February 2020[20]
7 Ken O'Dowd 6 March 2020

11 April 2022[21]
8 47th Susan Templeman 26 July 2022

Incumbent[22]
Ross Vasta[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Role of the Committee". Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Standing Orders Chapter 16" (PDF). Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  3. ^ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/%20House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/studyprogram/report/chapter2.pdf
  4. ^ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=proc/petitioning/report/fullreport.pdf
  5. ^ https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F2008-02-12%2F0077%22
  6. ^ "Petitions Committee Membership". Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  7. ^ Electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  8. ^ The work of the first Petitions Committee: 2008-2010 (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  9. ^ The work of the Petitions Committee: 2010-2013 - An established part of the democratic process (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  10. ^ The work of the Petitions Committee: 2013-2016 (PDF) (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b Making Voices Heard (Report). House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. May 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. ^ "No. 114". Votes and Proceedings. Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives: 1567. 29 May 2018.
  13. ^ Lucy Wicks, Chair of the Standing Committee on Petitions (29 May 2018). "Committees—Petitions Committee—Report". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 4681.
  14. ^ "Biography for IRWIN, Julia Claire". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Biography for BROADBENT, Russell Evan". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Biography for MURPHY, the Hon. John Paul". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Biography for JENSEN, Dr Dennis Geoffrey". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Biography for ELLIOT, the Hon. Maria Justine (Justine)". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Biography for VASTA, Ross Xavier". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Biography for O'BRIEN, Llewellyn (Llew) Stephen". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Biography for O'DOWD, Kenneth (Ken) Desmond". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Biography for TEMPLEMAN, Susan Raye". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
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