Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee

Improving Victoria's Parliamentary Committee System

Introduction

[Back to Table of Contents]

A brief history of Parliamentary committees

Parliamentary committees have a long history. Their forms and procedures may be traced back many centuries. The term "committee" originally signified an individual to whom a Bill had been committed.[3] Small committees for the work of preparation and review were already in existence before 1547 when the House of Commons began to record its proceedings in its Journals.[4] It seems that in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the House of Commons ceased referring certain matters to small committees and they were dealt with by, what was in essence, a committee of the whole House.[5]

The practice of appointing standing or "Grand Committees" developed in the seventeenth century and continued until 1832. They were given authority to pursue particular issues and generally met outside the House. The four Grand Committees (grievances, religion, court of justice and trade) were appointed at the beginning of each session.

Following the Reform Parliament of 1833, the number of committees increased and "their functions and procedures evolved into forms copied by fledging colonial parliaments throughout the British Empire, forms which are still clearly recognisable in the Federal and State Parliaments of Australia.".[6]

The first motion carried to appoint a select committee mentioned in the Victorian Hansard of 1856 was—

That a select committee be appointed for the purpose for preparing the draft of an address for presentation by That Council to his Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, in reply to his speech that morning. The committee is to consist of Mr. S. G. Henty, Mr. H. Miller, Mr. Power, Mr Hervey, Mr. Keogh, Mr Fawkner, and the mover [Mr. Bennett].[7]

Other select committees appointed during the first few days following the opening of Parliament included a Standing Order Committee in the Council and in the Assembly, a committee of "5 gentlemen" of the Council to "inquire into the working of the penal establishment, with power to examine witnesses and order the production of books and papers" and a library committee.[8]

It was possible to appoint these committees even before Standing Orders for either the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly were made. This would be done by relying on provisions in the New Constitution which enabled the Council and Assembly to make Standing Orders and provided until they were made, that the Standing Orders of the British Parliament should have force. A similar provision is found in section 19 of the current Constitution Act 1975—

19. Privileges powers etc. of Council and Assembly

(1) The Council and the Assembly respectively and the committees and members thereof respectively shall hold enjoy and exercise such and the like privileges immunities and powers as at the 21st day of July, 1855 were held enjoyed and exercised by the House of Commons of Great Britain and Ireland and by the committees and members thereof, so far as the same are not inconsistent with any Act of the Parliament of Victoria, whether such privileges immunities or powers were so held possessed or enjoyed by custom statute or otherwise.

(2) The Parliament may by Act legislate for or with respect to the privileges immunities and powers to be held enjoyed and exercised by the Council and the Assembly and by the committees and the members thereof respectively.

(3) Any copy of the Journals of the House of Commons printed or purporting to be printed by the order or printer of the House of Commons shall be received as prima facie evidence without proof of its being such copy, upon any inquiry touching the privileges immunities and powers of the Council or the Assembly or of any committee or member thereof respectively.

Under the British Constitution, the House of Lords and the House of Commons may investigate any matter whatsoever and both Houses have the power to punish any person who neglects or refuses to appear on summons or to testify or to produce documents as requested.[9]

In Howard v Gosset (1845) 10 Q.B. 359 at 379-80 Mr Justice Coleridge commented—

"That the Commons are, in the words of Lord Coke, the general inquisitors of the realm, I fully admit: it would be difficult to define any limits by which the subject matter of their inquiry can be bounded.... they may inquire into everything which it concerns the public weal for them to know; and they themselves, I think, are entrusted with the determination of what falls within that category. Co-extensive with the jurisdiction to inquire must be their authority to call for the attendance of witnesses, to enforce it by arrest where disobedience makes that necessary....".

The Victorian Parliament, pursuant to the Victorian Constitution, has been invested with the powers and privileges of the House of Commons. Therefore, its committees require no separate statute by which to inquire into particular matters or to order the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents. "This power is inherent in the authorization to send for persons and papers, and the House's power to punish disobedience as contempt is the same as that of the Commons House".[10] However, it has been Victorian practice to establish standing committees under statute.

The development of the modern Parliamentary committee system in Victoria

The development of the modern Parliamentary committee system in Victoria may be divided into three phases: phase I (1955-1982), phase II (1982-1992) and phase III (1992-continuing).[11]

The key features of the first phase were—

• the creation of committees for examining Public Accounts, for Statute Law Revision, and for the review of Subordinate Legislation;

• the establishment of the pattern of using joint rather than single-chamber committees;

• the creation of a system of payment for committee attendance;

• the passage of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1968 which drew together all provisions relating to Parliamentary committees that were in The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1958;

• the introduction, towards the end of the period, of a new type of committee with resources and powers beyond those previously available.

The new type of committee was the Public Review Committee whose primary function was to review public bodies referred to it and to report to the Parliament on whether or not those public bodies should cease to exist. The Public Review Committee was introduced by the Parliamentary Committees (Public Bodies Review) Act 1980 which was described as "the most powerful piece of parliamentary committee legislation in the Westminster world".[12] It is interesting to note that if the Public Review Committee recommended that a body should cease to operate, this recommendation would automatically come into effect after 12 months, unless the Parliament specifically resolved otherwise.

The second phase of the modern Parliamentary committee system in Victoria started with the amendment of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1968 by the Parliamentary Committees (Joint Investigatory Committees) Act 1982. The government of the day believed that, in light of the increased complexity of government and the need to facilitate improved public awareness of the operation and performance of government, it was necessary to extend and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the majority of the Parliamentary committees.[13] To that end, the seven existing Parliamentary committees[14] were replaced by four new Joint Investigatory Committees and a reconstituted Public Bodies Review Committee. The new Joint Investigatory Committees were the Economic and Budget Review Committee, the Legal and Constitutional Committee, the Natural Resources and Environment Committee and the Social Development Committee. These committee consisted of members from both Houses of the Parliament.

Although the new Parliamentary committees were well-resourced, none of them had the decision-making power enjoyed by the original Public Bodies Review Committee. Rather, the responsible Minister had to respond formally to committee reports within six months of the date of their tabling in Parliament. Kiss argues that during this period, the policy role of Parliamentary committees and their interaction with the public was fostered, but that by building the committees "into a policy apparatus which was elaborate and party-focussed.... the party ensured that parliamentary committees, despite their enhancement remained relatively weak".[15]

Phase III started with the enactment of the Parliamentary Committees (Amendment) Act 1992. The Act provided for the establishment of seven Joint Investigatory Committees (including the new Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee) and two Specific-Purpose Committees.[16] These committees are all standing committees. The Specific Purpose Committees have narrower functions than the others. Further Specific Purpose Committees may be appointed by resolution of the Council and the Assembly as the need arises. Since 1992, the Public Bodies Review Committee was disbanded, the Community Development Committee was renamed as the Family and Community Development Committee, the Federal-State Relations Committee was established (and then later disbanded) and the Crime Prevention Committee was renamed as the Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee. The last major change occurred in 1999 with the Parliamentary Committees (Amendment) Act 1999. This Act, inter alia, changed the Economic Development Committee from a joint House committee to a committee made up solely of Legislative Council members.

A description of the current Parliamentary committee system in Victoria

Members from the two main sides of the political spectrum freely acknowledge the important part that the Victorian Parliamentary committee system plays in the life of the Parliament. This is evident in the debates surrounding this and other referrals that took place in both Houses as a selection of comments below shows—

• Parliamentary committees are an important part of the parliamentary process.[17]

• All-party committees can foster a strong bipartisan relationship or culture that enables members to negotiate their way through that ideological minefield. They can produce practical solutions to complex problems that a single political party would often fail to produce.[18]

• From my experience on many committees, I have found that it is an ideal way for members of Parliament ‘to gain experience and knowledge of many issues with which they are unfamiliar.[19]

• [The parliamentary committee system] is about both sides of the house sitting down and working through difficult issues in our society to ensure that Victorians live a better life.[20]

In Victoria, Parliamentary committees may be established in a number of ways: under Standing Order, under the Parliamentary Committees Act 1968 (the principal concern of this inquiry) or by some other Act of Parliament.

Select committees are generally established by resolution under the Standing Orders of either or both Houses of Parliament. Chapter 12 of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly and of the Legislative Council respectively relate to select committees established by that House. These select committees consist solely of members of a single House. The Parliament may also establish joint House select committees under the Joint Standing Orders of the Parliament. Select committees are appointed to inquire into specific matters. When a select committee has completed its inquiry and has presented its final report to the Parliament, it ceases to exist.

Standing committees exist for the life of the Parliament. In Victoria, standing committees are established under the Parliamentary Committees Act 1968. The five Joint House Committees established under the Act are—

• the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee

• the Law Reform Committee

• the Environment and Natural Resources Committee

• the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

• the Family and Community Development Committee.

In addition to these five committees, the Act provides for "Specific Purpose Committees". The Act names two of such committees (the Road Safety Committee and the Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee) and provides that Parliament may appoint other Specific Purpose Committees by resolution of the Council and the Assembly.

Together, the Joint House Committees and the Specific Purpose Committees are referred to in the Act as "Joint Investigatory Committees". As the name suggests, Joint Investigatory Committees are composed of members from the Council and the Assembly. The Act specifies the quorum of each Joint Investigatory Committee, each Committee's functions, members' voting rights and the investigatory powers of the Committees.

Referrals may be made to the Joint Investigatory Committees by resolution of either House or by Order of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette. The referrals must come within the parameters of the Committees' functions. Committee reports are laid before both Houses of the Parliament and the appropriate responsible Minister must, within six months of a report being tabled, report to the Parliament on the actions (if any) that the Government proposes to take in response to the report.

For the life of the current Parliament, the Economic Development Committee is composed of members of only the Council, however its powers and operating procedure are the same as the Joint Investigatory Committees.

The Joint Investigatory Committees are supported by research and administrative staff.

In addition to the select and standing committees mentioned above, there is a third category of committee: the administrative committee. These committees are concerned with the administration of the Parliament. The Library Committee, for example, is responsible for the activities of the Parliamentary Library and the Department of Victorian Parliamentary Debates. The House Committee oversees the activities of the Department of Parliamentary Services.

Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee
© Parliament of Victoria