Legislative Assembly
Parliament of
Fact Sheet 21
The Clerk
Introduction
Visitors
to the Legislative Assembly can readily identify the Premier, the Speaker and
other members of Parliament. Less
familiar, however, are the black-gowned officers sitting at the table in front
of the Speaker. These figures are the clerks,
and this Fact Sheet is primarily about the most senior of them, the Clerk of
the Legislative Assembly, usually referred to as the Clerk.
Origins in the House of Commons
The
Clerk is the most senior official of the Legislative Assembly, and the role is
based on that of the Clerk of the House of Commons. The history of the Clerk of the House of
Commons is a colourful one, with records stretching back as far as 1315. Originally, the title ‘Clerk’ referred simply
to someone who could read and write. As
such skills were not commonplace at the time, they were highly valuable.
The
Clerk had to read out bills, petitions and other documents to the members, many
of whom would not have been able to read.
This is where the terms for the various stages of bills come from —
first, second and third readings — as the Clerk would actually read the bills
aloud. (See Fact Sheet 2: Stages of a Bill for information on these
stages.) Those early clerks also
recorded the proceedings in the House in a journal, and provided procedural
advice to the Speaker and members. These
responsibilities continue to this day, though they are now highly specialised
and, in many ways, more complex.
The Clerk Today
The role of the Clerk of the Assembly today includes
many of the original responsibilities as well as new duties. The Clerk’s roles can be categorised into
three groups:
·
Duties inside the
Chamber
·
Procedural duties
outside the Chamber
·
The position of
head of the Department of the Legislative Assembly.
The
current Clerk of the Assembly, Mr Ray Purdey, also has the additional role of
being Clerk of the Parliaments, explained below.
The
Clerk is assisted by the Deputy Clerk and Assistant Clerk Committees, who sit
at the table with the Clerk and the Assistant Clerk Procedure, who also sits in
the Chamber. The Deputy and Assistant
Clerks also give advice on parliamentary procedure. The Deputy Clerk oversees the day to day
operations of the Department of the Legislative Assembly and, in the Clerk’s
absence, both inside and out of the Chamber, performs the duties of that
office. The Assistant Clerk Committees
has direct responsibility to the Speaker for the operations of the joint committees
administered by the Legislative Assembly.
The Assistant Clerk Procedure is also the Serjeant-at-Arms (see Fact Sheet 19: Serjeant-at-Arms).
Impartiality of Office
The
Clerk cannot rule on any matter, even when chairing proceedings for the
election of a new Speaker (see below).
This reflects the requirement that the Clerk carries out duties
independently according to the oath of office.
The Clerk takes an oath of office before the Governor swearing to ‘at
all times and in all things discharge the duties of the Clerk of the
Legislative Assembly to the best of my knowledge and ability without fear,
favour or affection’.
Ceremonial Dress
The
clerks at the table dress in a formal manner that reflects the origins and
formality of their role. In earlier
times it was customary for the clerks to wear full
Procedural Responsibilities
When
the Assembly is sitting, the role of the Clerk is most vital. The Clerk sits at the table in front of the
Speaker, with the Deputy and Assistant Clerks.
The Clerk is responsible for advising the Speaker and members of
Parliament on procedural matters inside the Chamber, and must be able to
interpret standing orders, the requirements of the Constitution, parliamentary
precedents and Speakers’ rulings. This
is perhaps the most demanding aspect of the role, as issues can be complex and
often must be resolved very quickly.
Other responsibilities of the Clerk include:
·
Certifying that
bills have passed with the required procedure
·
Tabling petitions
(see Fact Sheet 8: Petitions) and documents
(see Fact Sheet 18: Documents Tabled in
the Legislative Assembly)
·
Ringing the
bells, for divisions and to obtain a quorum
·
Chairing the
election of the Speaker
·
Recording the Votes and Proceedings of the House (the
formal minutes), a duty shared with the other clerks at the table; the clerks
have laptop computers on the table for this purpose (see Fact Sheet 35: Votes and Proceedings)
·
Advising the
Speaker, Government, Opposition, individual members, the Privileges Committee
and other committees on procedural matters including drafting of motions,
amendments to bills, and other matters that arise immediately in the Chamber.
Head of the Department of the Legislative Assembly
As
Department Head the Clerk administers the Department of the Legislative
Assembly, under the general oversight of the Speaker similar to the way government
departments operate under a secretary and minister. Staff members of the Department of the
Legislative Assembly provide services, advice and support to the Speaker, House
and committees, members of Parliament, the public and government
departments.
The
Clerk also liaises with the heads of the Department of the Legislative Council
and the Department of Parliamentary Services on the administrative operations
of the Parliament generally.
Clerk of the Parliaments
In
the fourteenth century in
The
Clerk of the Parliaments has three main duties:
·
To endorse every
Act of the Parliament to certify that the legislation to be presented to the
Governor for royal assent is, in fact, what passed through both Houses of
Parliament.
·
To maintain the
Register of Members Interests, in accordance with the statutory requirement that
states that members of Parliament must declare their financial and other
interests. Although this is nominally
the responsibility of the Clerk of the Parliaments, it has been delegated to
the Clerk of the Legislative Council since 1978.
·
To be the Honorary
Secretary of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The CPA is a professional organisation that
enables members of Parliament to study parliamentary practices throughout the
Commonwealth, and to further the functions of their own parliaments. The Clerk of the Parliaments in
Issued by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, July 2008
Fact Sheets
The Legislative Assembly Procedure Office
has produced a series of Fact Sheets that explain parliamentary procedure and
terminology. All Fact Sheets are available on Parliament’s website www.parliament.vic.gov.au
or through the Procedure Office. Contact Details
Procedure Office, Legislative Assembly,
Parliament House, Spring Street, Phone No: 03
9651 8563 Fax No: 03 9650 7245 Email: assembly@parliament.vic.gov.au |