LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
OF
STANDING ORDERS
COMMITTEE
Epetitions
__________________________________
Ordered to be printed
__________________________________
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT
PRINTER
May 2009
No 189 Session 2006–09
Legislative Assembly of
Standing Orders Committee
www.parliament.vic.gov.au
STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE
Members
Hon Jenny Lindell, MP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Chair)
Ms Ann Barker, MP, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Mr Nicholas Kotsiras, MP
Mr Craig Langdon, MP
Mr Andrew McIntosh, MP
Mr Don Nardella, MP
Mrs Jeanette Powell, MP
Committee staff
Mr Ray Purdey, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly (Principal Adviser to the Committee)
Mrs Liz Choat, Deputy Clerk
Ms Bridget Noonan, Assistant Clerk Committees (Secretary)
Database development
Ms Julie Gardner, E Services Senior Officer, Parliamentary Library
Mr Stephen Rosman, Web Development Officer, Parliamentary Library
APPOINTMENT OF THE STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE
Extract from the Votes and Proceedings
of the
Legislative Assembly
7 STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE AND
PRIVILEGES COMMITTEE
…
(2) A select committee be appointed to consider and report upon the standing orders of the House; such Committee to consist of the Speaker, Ms Barker, Mr Kotsiras, Mr Langdon, Mr McIntosh, Mr Nardella and Mrs Powell and that four be the quorum.
CONTENTS
Members and staff of the
Standing Orders Committee...................................................... iii
Appointment of the Committee........................................................................................ iv
Chair’s Introduction ....................................................................................................... vii
Recommendation ........................................................................................................... ix
Report.......................................................................................................................... 1
Appendices
Appendix 1 Guide to Epetitions............................................................................... 5
Appendix 2 Frequently Asked Questions............................................................... 11
Appendix 3 Proposed revised Standing Orders 44 and 45..................................... 13
CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION
It gives me great pleasure to present this report of the Standing Orders Committee on providing the Victorian community with a system of petitioning the Legislative Assembly via the internet.
In 2007 the Standing Orders Committee resolved that the provision of an online petition facility should replicate, as much as possible, the system that currently exists for paper petitions tabled in the Legislative Assembly. That is, there should be no more onerous process in place for members of the Victorian community to initiate or sign an epetition than the process that exists to initiate or sign a paper petition.
I would like to thank all members of the Committee — Ms Barker, Mr Kotsiras, Mr Langdon, Mr McIntosh, Mr Nardella and Mrs Powell for their considered approach to the issues raised in the development of the epetition facility. My thanks also to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Ray Purdey; Deputy Clerk, Liz Choat and Assistant Clerk Committees, Bridget Noonan. Their detailed knowledge and experience of the petition process was vital to the Committee’s work.
Thanks also to Stephen Rosman and Julie Gardner for their technical expertise in the development of the electronic facility which will enable individual members of the Victorian community to initiate or join an epetition via an accessible and user friendly web page.
Jenny Lindell
Speaker
May 2009
RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends that:
· Epetitions be permitted in the Legislative Assembly with a procedure being used that mirrors that already used for paper petitions.
· Standing orders be amended by substituting current Standing Orders 44 and 45 with proposed new Standing Orders 44 and 45 as appearing in Appendix 3.
REPORT
The Committee has the honour to report as follows:
Background to the
Inquiry
1
Over the
last few years the possibility of epetitions being
permitted in the Legislative Assembly has been considered in a number of
different forums.
2
In 2005
the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee presented its report Victorian Electronic Democracy and
recommended that:
The Parliament of Victoria should introduce an online
petitions facility on a trial basis, subject to ongoing evaluation as to the
benefits offered to Victorians. The
Victorian online petition system should include a moderated discussion
facility, similar to that provided by the Scottish Parliament.
·
This system
should be developed in open source, if possible, with access to the code
available (at minimum) to the Local Government sector in
The government response to that report was
supportive of the Parliament developing an epetitions
system.
3
The
Standing Orders Committee of the 55th Parliament initiated discussions
on the possibility of the Legislative Assembly permitting epetitions. A discussion paper was issued in late 2005
and comments sought from members. The 55th Parliament ended before
the Committee was able to make recommendations to the House.
4
After it
was appointed in 2007, the Standing Orders Committee of the current Parliament
made it a priority to investigate a suitable epetitions
model, looking at both the technological and procedural aspects. During the period of its investigations the
Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, as part of is Report on Strengthening Government and Parliament Accountability in
Victoria, also recommended that epetitions be
considered.
Principles agreed by
the Standing Orders Committee
5
The
Committee took an early decision to recommend a system which follows, as
closely as possible, the procedural rules for paper petitions. It was felt that such an approach would
enable an online system to be readily understood by all those participating and
that it was appropriate to take measured steps when looking to introduce a new
online process.
6
Accordingly
the Committee has not recommended a system which includes any steps, such as
discussion forums or consideration by a Petitions Committee, which do not
already apply to paper petitions. If the
system recommended by the Committee is adopted, it would be a matter for the
House at a later stage to consider any operational changes having had the
benefit of seeing initially how epetitions operate in
practice.
7
The
Committee sees epetitions as another method for the
community to petition the House and not a method of replacing paper
petitions. It simply offers petitioners
an alternative method of presenting their views to the House.
8
The
Committee looked at systems in other jurisdictions to see how they could be
adapted to meet the House’s procedural requirements for petitions. In
particular, the Committee reviewed the
Development
and Demonstration of Database
9
Although
initially it was thought that the
10 Internal testing of the database has taken
place and, after various developmental stages, the Committee sought feedback
from members on the procedure being proposed.
Two demonstrations were held (
Overview of epetitions process
11 In summary, the process recommended is as
follows:
· The person initiating an epetition is known as the principal petitioner.
· To start the process the principal petitioner completes a request form (which is very similar to the current template for paper petitions) and asks a member to facilitate the epetition. The principal petitioner will need to state on the request form how long the petition will be left current online for signatures; anything between one week and six months is permitted. The request form can be completed electronically using a template or printed and completed manually.
· If the member agrees, both the member and the principal petitioner sign the request form and the member sends the form to the Clerk. This is the equivalent of the member signing the top page of a paper petition.
· The Clerk checks the validity of the petition and, assuming everything is in order, arranges for it to be put online. The principal petitioner is advised by email.
· The epetition then appears online as a current epetition for the period requested by the principal petitioner. During this period other people can sign it by formally joining the epetition. This involves giving the same information as they would for a paper petition plus an email address.
· At the time of signing an epetition a person also has to complete a small ‘Captcha’ exercise which involves typing in a box the equivalent of randomly generated letters/numbers which appear on the screen. This measure has been included to protect the database from multiple computer generated signatures. The database security will also prevent two identical entries (ie name and address details) but not different names from the same address as that would preclude signatures by different members of the same family. Whilst the security does not in itself prevent someone from ‘inventing’ other names, that is no different from the paper based system currently used.
· The principal petitioner’s name and suburb/town will appear online but no other details are recorded. As others sign the petition their details are not disclosed but the running total of signatures increases accordingly. A note appears by the total to advise that it is provisional until such time as signatures have been checked for admissibility.
· When the epetition closes staff in the Clerk’s Office will check signatures for validity (for example, only Victorian addresses are admissible) in the same way as is currently carried out paper petitions. A copy is then printed for formal presentation to the House and for subsequent archiving with the House’s original papers. This will contain names and addresses (but not email addresses) of all signatories. The epetition is presented in the name of the facilitating member along with any paper petitions being presented that day; there is no intention to make any distinction between them.
· As for paper petitions, the front sheet of an epetition will be sent to the relevant minister.
· Closed petitions are archived online; they can be viewed but signatures cannot be added to them.
12 The website will include resources available
to assist petitioners, specifically an Epetitions Information
Guide which includes the request form and Frequently Asked Questions. Drafts are provided in Appendix 1 and
Appendix 2 respectively.
Other
procedural issues
13 In proposing a system the Committee took
careful note of the experiences in
· The maximum words allowed for the principal petitioner to set out his or her grievance and action is 250.
· To avoid the potential for confusion and the database being overloaded, epetitions setting out substantially the same grievance and requesting substantially the same action by the House will not be allowed simultaneously. However there is nothing to prevent a ‘repeat’ epetition being created immediately after an earlier one has closed.
· As epetitions will be presented in the facilitating member’s name, the Committee has taken the view that a member can only properly assist in that process during a Parliament in which he or she is a member. Therefore, at the end of a Parliament, epetitions will need to be presented on or before the final sitting day, failing which they will lapse. In practice, towards the end of a Parliament staff in the Clerk’s Office would liaise with the principal petitioner about the time period an epetition is to remain open for, so as to avoid problems of this nature. For the same reasons, members will not be able to facilitate epetitions during the period between the Assembly expiring/dissolving and a new Parliament starting.
· All personal electronic data should be disposed of by the Clerk within six months of a petition being presented.
14 The proposal for epetitions is presented with the agreement of all members of the Committee. The Committee suggests that a new procedure be adopted as soon as possible.
Recommendation
The Committee recommends that:
·
Epetitions be permitted in the Legislative Assembly with a procedure being used
that mirrors that already used for paper petitions.
·
Standing orders be amended by substituting
current Standing Orders 44 and 45 with proposed new Standing Orders 44 and 45
as appearing in Appendix 3.
Committee Room
6 May 2009
Epetitions Information Guide
Epetitions
A petition is a way for members of the public to place their concerns before Parliament and ask for action to be taken. It is a method of demonstrating to the government issues that members of the public feel strongly about.
Until 2009, petitions were only possible in paper form. The Legislative Assembly of Victoria has now introduced online petitioning. Petitions submitted in electronic format are known as epetitions.
Information on epetitions is available on the Parliament of Victoria’s website at www.parliament.vic.gov.au. You can view epetitions through this website and, if you wish, join a current epetition.
Epetitions and paper petitions
Epetitions do not replace the paper petition process. If you wish to start a petition you can choose to circulate a paper petition, start an epetition or use both processes. The person starting an epetition is known as the principal petitioner.
Who is eligible to join
an epetition?
To initiate or join an epetition,
you must be a resident of
The group may simply be identified as residents of
How are epetitions started?
Step One: Obtain an epetition
request form. There is a copy of the
form attached to this Information Guide and it can also be downloaded from the
website.
You may fill in the
form at this stage or wait until you have contacted an MP (Step Two). It will help you, however, when contacting
the MP’s office to be aware of the details you will need to put in the form.
Step Two: Approach a Member of the Legislative
Assembly (MP) to ask the MP to facilitate your epetition.
You can either
approach an MP for a general discussion before filling in the request form, or
you can complete the form fully and then discuss it with an MP. You should, however, only approach one MP at
a time.
Information on how to contact MPs is available through Parliament’s website at www.parliament.vic.gov.au or you can contact the Legislative Assembly for this information on 03 9651 8563.
Step Three: Complete the epetition request form.
An epetition request form is included with this brochure and can also be downloaded from Parliament’s website. The form records the:
· precise wording of the epetition;
· eligibility criteria for persons wishing to join;
· period the epetition will be on the website for people to join it;
· facilitating MP’s details; and
· principal petitioner’s details.
If the MP agrees to facilitate your epetition, both you and the MP need to sign the request form. The MP may request changes before agreeing to assist you.
Step Four: The MP sends the signed epetition
request form to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
The Clerk will check that it complies with the Assembly’s procedural rules. If these requirements are satisfied, the epetition is posted on the website until the specified closing date.
The Clerk will notify the principal petitioner when the epetition is posted online.
How long can an epetition remain on the website?
All current epetitions are accessible from the website. An epetition remains current for a minimum period of one week and a maximum period of six months. The time period must be specified in the epetition request form.
Epetitions will, however, lapse if not presented to the Assembly during the Parliament in which they were started. The Assembly has fixed four-year terms. If, when receiving a request form, the Clerk’s Office considers that the timescale requested would not mean that the petition is presented before the election period, staff will contact the principal petitioner for a discussion. A revised closing date may then be requested by the principal petitioner in writing.
Closed petitions can also be viewed on the website but no additional signatures can be added to them.
Who will promote an epetition?
As with paper petitions, the principal petitioner is responsible for raising awareness in the community about the availability of the specific epetition. (The name and suburb/town of the principal petitioner will be provided on the website.)
What happens after the epetition has closed?
Once the posting period for an epetition
has closed, a copy is printed for presenting to the Legislative Assembly. This
is then checked by the Clerk’s Office to ensure all signatures are valid (eg
that they are all from residents of
As for paper petitions, epetitions need to be presented in the Legislative Assembly by the Clerk on behalf of the facilitating MP. This will occur at the first available opportunity, allowing time for the checking process to be completed. Details of the Assembly’s sitting dates are available from the website.
The principal petitioner and anyone else who has joined the petition can ask to be notified by email when the epetition has been presented.
Will ministers respond
to epetitions?
After the epetition has been tabled, details are sent to the relevant minister/s.
The minister/s may choose to respond but they are not obliged to. Any response is sent to the principal petitioner and is not presented to the Legislative Assembly. This is the same procedure as applies to paper petitions.
Conditions of Use
By joining an epetition, you will be agreeing to the epetition’s conditions of use which outline the eligibility requirements; the requirement that a person may only join an epetition once; and the prohibition on the use of false names.
Any invalid signatures are not counted towards the total number of signatures and do not form part of the paper petition presented to the Legislative Assembly.
Legislative Assembly standing orders state that it is a breach of privilege of the House for a person to add the name of any other person to a petition to be presented to the House, except with the consent of a person who is incapable of adding his or her own name. A person could also be regarded as being in contempt if they induce someone else to sign an epetition by fraud.
As part of the signing process, you will be asked to
complete a simple ‘test’ by typing out exactly some random text which you will
see on the screen; this control has been put in place to prevent computer
generated signatures. You will also be required to record your name, address
(including post code) and email address.
What about privacy?
Only the name and suburb/town of the principal petitioner will be made public on the website. The personal details of people who join epetitions will not be published in any form on the website. The website will only show a tally of the number of signatures collected. However, the copy of the epetition which is presented to the Assembly will include names and addresses of everyone who joins the petition with a valid signature.
In addition, details of all petitions presented to the Assembly (including the names, addresses of signatories) may be accessed from the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. A privacy statement on the website details how your personal information will be protected.
Where can I obtain further information on the epetition process?
Further information can be obtained in a number of ways:
· Check the website www.parliament.vic.gov.au
· Email assembly@parliament.vic.gov.au
· Phone the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly on 03 9651 8554
·
Write to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly,
Parliament House,
How can I give feedback on the epetition
process?
Contact us by email, telephone or by post, using the contact details set out above.
Epetition Request Form
Use this
form to ask a Member of the Legislative Assembly to submit your proposed epetition for posting on the Parliament of Victoria’s
website.
Please ensure this form is completed
in full and signed prior to forwarding to the MP’s office.
Member of the Legislative Assembly’s Details* (to be completed by the principal
petitioner)
Name
Address Postcode
Principal Petitioner’s Details (to be completed by the principal
petitioner)
Name
Address Postcode
Note: The name and suburb/town of the
principal petitioner will be published on the website in accordance with the
standing orders of the Legislative Assembly of
Telephone (office hours) Email
Proposed Epetition Details (to be completed by the principal
petitioner)
Subject
Confirm eligibility (insert the descriptions of the petitioner or petitioners such as
residents of
draws to the attention of the House or
points out to the House (select option and then insert the circumstances of the issue)
The petitioners therefore request
that the Legislative Assembly of Victoria (insert here the
request of the petitioners, showing clearly the nature of the remedy or action
requested
Number of words Length
petition to be open for signatures
(limit of 250 in total for grievance and action) (minimum 1 week/maximum 6 months from date
of posting)
Signature Date
Note: The MP’s office will contact
you to advise whether he or she is willing to submit your proposed petition. If
the MP agrees to do so, you may be required to attend his or her office to sign
another Epetition Request Form if there are any
required changes to its text.
*The contact details for MPs are
available from the Parliament of
Member of the Legislative Assembly’s Details (to be completed by the MP — the
completed form should then be sent to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly)
Name
Electorate
I agree to submit the petition
overleaf for posting on the Parliament of Victoria’s website
Signature Date
EPETITION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can a paper petition and an epetition of the same wording be active simultaneously?
Yes.
Can two epetitions
of the same wording be active simultaneously?
No.
After an epetition
closes, can the same wording be resubmitted as an epetition
for a second nominated time period?
Yes.
There is no restriction on successive petitions on the same issue.
Can the closing date of an epetition be extended?
No.
However there is no restriction on successive petitions on the same issue.
Can an epetition
be posted on the internet after the Legislative Assembly has expired prior to
an election?
No.
Can an MP be a principal petitioner or
join a current petition?
No.
Can the principal petitioner’s address
be a PO Box number or a business address?
Yes,
providing it is in Victoria and the principal petitioner is a resident of
Can a company name be used as the
principal petitioner’s name?
Only if the company provides its Australian Company
Number (ACN) or seal and is based in
Can people under 18 years of age sign
the epetition?
Yes,
if they are residents of
Can a name be removed from an epetition?
No
but, if a signature is invalid, it will not be included in the printed version
of the epetition presented to the Legislative
Assembly or counted towards the final total of signatures.
Does a principal petitioner need to
sign his or her own petition?
No,
the principal petitioner is automatically regarded as being the first to sign the
petition, based on the completed request form.
How is a petition tabled?
After
a petition has closed, all signatures are checked; any invalid signatures are
not counted towards the total. A copy of
the petition incorporating all valid signatures is then printed. This is presented (tabled) on the next
sitting day by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly in the name of the MP who
agreed to facilitate the petition.
Can MPs make statements in the
Legislative Assembly about current epetitions?
Yes. There isn’t a time specifically set aside for
statements on petitions but, each day, there is a 30 minute period during which
members have an opportunity to make statements on any issue. A member could make a statement about a
petition during this period.
Can petitions be debated?
After a petition has been tabled, a member can give notice of a motion that the ‘petition be taken into consideration’. The motion is then listed on the notice paper (agenda) for debate. However no time is set aside for the motion to be debated and, in reality, it is extremely unlikely that a debate would actually take place.
PROPOSED REVISED STANDING ORDERS 44 AND
45
44 Types of petitions
(1) Petitions are accepted by the Legislative Assembly in the form
of a paper document (paper petitions) and also electronically (epetitions).
(2) Every petition must:
(a) be presented by a member who has not signed the petition; and
(b) be examined by the member to ensure that the petition is not
offensive in its language or tone, and that it complies with the rules of the
House; and
(c) be certified by the Clerk to confirm it accords with the
standing orders and procedures of the House.
(3) A paper petition must:
(a) be given to the Clerk at least one day before the meeting of the
House at which it is to be presented; and
(b) be
signed by the member presenting it at the top of the front page.
(4) An epetition:
(a) must be facilitated by a member and lodged with the Clerk, in
the correct form for publication on the Parliament’s internet website,
specifying the period during which it can be electronically signed; and
(b) may be signed electronically by persons joining the petition
through providing their name, address, postcode and email address; and
(c) must remain current for electronic signature for a minimum of
one week and a maximum of six months from the date of publication on the
Parliament’s internet website; and
(e) may be declined by the Clerk for publication on Parliament’s
internet website if it does not conform with standing orders and procedures of
the House; and
(e) cannot be altered once published on the Parliament’s internet
website; and
(f) dealing with substantially the same grievance and requesting
substantially the same action by House as another current epetition
cannot be published on the Parliament’s internet website at the same time;
(g) will be printed (including the names and address and of all
persons who signed the epetition) by the Clerk at the
end of the period allowed for electronic signatures; the Clerk then arranges
for the epetition to be presented to the House by the
facilitating member;
(h) can only be presented during the Parliament that is current at
the time it is published on the Parliament’s internet website; any epetition that has not been presented prior to the
Legislative Assembly expiring or being dissolved will lapse;
(i) cannot be facilitated by a member during
the period after the Legislative Assembly has expired or dissolved and the
commencement of a new Parliament.
45 Content of petitions
(1) All petitions must:
(a) be addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria; and
(b) be in English or accompanied by an English translation certified
to be true and correct by the member in whose name it is to be presented; and
(c) be respectful and temperate in its language; and
(d) state the action or remedy sought from the House which, in the
case of paper petitions, must appear on the top of every sheet; and
(e) if from a corporation, be made under its common seal; and
(f) only be signed by the same person once.
(2) Paper petitions must:
(a) contain at least one signature; and
(b) contain the original signatures, names and addresses of the petitioners;
only a petitioner incapable of signing may get someone else to sign for him or
her; and
(c) not contain signatures which have been pasted or in any other
way transferred or attached to the petition.
(3) In relation to epetitions:
(a) persons joining epetitions by an
electronic signature must fill out their correct details as confirmation they
personally agree to sign the epetition; details
should not be completed by anyone else except in the case of incapacity from
sickness; and
(b) the Clerk must dispose of all electronic
personal data relating to the posting and joining of an epetition
within six months after it is presented to the House.