Legislative Assembly
Parliament of
Fact Sheet 6
Personal Explanations
Standing
Orders
Standing
Order 123 relates to personal explanations in the House:
A member may make a personal explanation with
the consent of the Chair when there is no question before the House. A personal explanation cannot be debated.
General
Purposes
The purposes for which personal explanation are
allowed are to:
·
Correct
a statement where the member may have inadvertently misled the House.
·
Explain
where the press has misquoted what the member has said in the House.
·
Correct
statements made in the House by other members which misrepresent what the
member has actually said in the House.
Process
Because it is the practice of the House to hear
personal explanations without interjection or debate, the exact contents of any
proposed statement must be given in writing in advance to the Speaker to ensure
its appropriateness and to obtain the Speaker's approval.
Once approved, a personal explanation can be made when
there is no question before the Chair.
Normally this will be after question time or at a change in business.
Relevant rules relating to the making of explanations
are as follows:
·
An
explanation should be brief and constitute a simple statement of fact.
·
A member
must not, in making a statement, simply engage in argument on differences of opinion.
·
No new
material should be introduced in making the explanation; all a member can do is
correct the record.
·
Personal
explanations must not be debated.
·
Personal
explanations should be heard in silence by other members in the Chamber.
·
In
making a personal explanation, a member must not seek to reflect on matters
affecting his or her party but should confine the explanation to matters that
affect him or her personally.
·
A member
must not use the opportunity for making a personal explanation to make charges
or attacks upon another member.
·
As
mentioned above, the text of the explanation will have been given prior
approval by the Speaker. When making the explanation, the member must therefore
not depart from the agreed text.
·
A member
cannot make a personal explanation on behalf of another member who may be
absent.
·
The Chair
may withdraw approval for a personal explanation if the member tries to use the
opportunity to enter into general debate.
Issued by the Clerk of the
Legislative Assembly, November 2004
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,
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