Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Standing Orders Committee

The Inclusion of Sessional Orders and Ongoing Resolutions in the Standing Orders: Interim Report

Kathleen MATTHEWS-WARD (Broadmeadows) (10:12): I rise to speak on The Inclusion of Sessional Orders and Ongoing Resolutions in the Standing Orders: Interim Report by the Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Committee. I would like to thank the entire committee for the hard work they do: Speaker of the house, Deputy Premier, Deputy Speaker of the house, Leader of the House, Government Whip, deputy whip, Manager of Opposition Business, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the Nationals and member for Melbourne. I would also like to thank the secretariat of the committee Paul Groenewegen, Kate Murray, Vaughn Koops and Bridget Noonan for their diligence and dedication to their work and for all that they do to make our democracy and work as smooth and as productive as possible. Parliamentary committees are dependent on their secretariats to duly discharge their duties. The support provided by them to members is critical to facilitating an informed decision-making process.

Since being elected to this place in the 2022 general election to represent the electoral district of Broadmeadows, I have become more appreciative of the standing orders and sessional orders of this place and how they affect parliamentary procedure. Not only do standing orders and sessional orders emphasise democratic participation but they also aim to streamline legislative processes to ensure that business is conducted in a timely and orderly manner. Rules governing speaking times, debate limits and voting procedures help maximise efficiency without sacrificing democratic principles. Standing orders promote fairness and equity by giving all members an opportunity to participate in discussions and decision-making processes.

The recommendations made by the committee in this report are to incorporate sessional orders and ongoing resolutions that have been effective in the house as proceedings. The first one I want to speak about regards supplementary questions. Supplementary questions play a crucial role during question time. They allow for further clarification and the ability to further elaborate on the response that has been given. They offer members a chance to challenge government policies, decisions and statements in real time. By raising supplementary questions on original questions, members bring important matters to public attention. They contribute to greater awareness and understanding of key issues and promote transparency in government actions. They enrich the overall debate during question time, allowing for spontaneous follow-up of inquiries based on the unfolding discussion. The sessional order to allow for supplementary questions was first introduced at the beginning of the 58th Parliament in 2015 and was adopted in the 59th and 60th parliaments as well. Supplementary questions have continued to serve as a valuable mechanism for promoting responsiveness and constructive dialogue within parliamentary settings, ultimately contributing to the effectiveness of the legislative process. The incorporation of the supplementary questions during question time to standing orders will keep the current government and all future governments to the highest level of accountability.

Another recommendation in this report relates to the procedure of a division. Sessional order 15 provides that the bells will ring for 4 minutes for a division. This sessional order was introduced in the 58th Parliament when the Parliament House annexe was opened to allow members more time to reach the chamber on the ringing of the bells. This grants appropriate time for members to get to the chamber from anywhere in Parliament House. It allows members to participate in the many activities that take place in Parliament during a sitting week and make the most of their time while here – for instance, the event we are having in the Federation Room at the moment. It is also important for members safety, as we do not feel that we need to take unnecessary risks in running to the chamber. The 4 minutes also allows extra time for people with mobility challenges. However, I would think this may need to be reviewed if we were lucky enough to have a person with a disability elected to this place in future.

In the 58th Parliament sessional order 4 was adopted, which specified that responses to questions on notice must be submitted to the Clerk within 30 days. This was adopted again in the last Parliament and also in the current Parliament. The 30-day time limit gives appropriate time for the answers to be submitted, with necessary details and actions included. The Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Committee has recommended that the sessional order should be incorporated into the standing orders.

The report also recommends adopting sessional orders 8 and 10, which refer to the provisions for asking constituency questions and set time limits on questions and answers respectively. Constituency questions are an important part of our week’s proceedings and provide members with yet another opportunity to ask questions of the government regarding important matters in their electorate. Last sitting week I had the opportunity to ask a question about Fawkner station and lighting at the station, and this week I have got some other questions that are important to the constituents in my area. I have personally received many well thought out responses from various ministers for my constituency questions and have always found them to be incredibly useful. I am glad to see that constituency questions are here to stay.

In the time I have left, I want to highlight the recommendation to adopt sessional order 18 into the standing orders. This relates to the requirement for a joint sitting – (Time expired)