Joint rules of practice

(1)    In any matter of procedure not provided for in these rules of procedure, the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly, in force for the time being, will be followed as far as they can be applied.

(2)    Unless otherwise ordered, the hours of sitting each day will be:

9.30 am to 1.00 pm
2.00 pm to 6.30 pm
8.00 pm to 10.00 pm

(3)    At 10.00 pm the Chair will interrupt debate and will immediately adjourn the joint sitting without a question being put. Any member speaking at the time of the interruption may, when the joint sitting resumes, continue his or her speech.

(4)    A Presiding Officer, the Deputy Speaker or the Deputy President will take the Chair as Acting Chair whenever requested so to do by the Chair without any formal communication.

(5)    (a)    If any member indicates to the Chair that he or she wishes to move amendments to the disputed bill, the bill will immediately be considered in detail. If the disputed bill is agreed to at the conclusion of the consideration in detail stage, the Chair will then immediately propose the question ‘That the third reading [of the disputed bill] be agreed to with/without amendment/s’.

(b)    When a disputed bill is not considered in detail, the Chair will immediately propose the question ‘That the third reading [of the disputed bill] be agreed to without amendment’.

(c)    The third reading question will be carried, with or without amendments, only if agreed to by an absolute majority of the total number of the members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

(6)    The time limits set out in the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly will apply.

(7)    (a)    Until the expiration of four hours consideration of, or 12 speakers have spoken on, the question ‘That the third reading [of the disputed bill] be agreed to with or without amendments’ (whichever is the later event), no motion may be moved by any member ‘That the question be now put’. Such motion may not be moved by any member who has already spoken on the question and the member so moving will not interrupt any other member who is addressing the Chair. The motion will be put immediately and decided without amendment or debate.

(b)    On any other question a motion may be moved at any time by any member, but not so as to interrupt a member who is addressing the Chair on the motion ‘That the question be now put’. The Chair must put such motion immediately without amendment or debate unless he or she believes that it is a denial of the rights of the minority.

(8)    On every question arising in a joint sitting each member of the Legislative Assembly and of the Legislative Council, including the Chair, will have one vote.

(9)    A motion for the adjournment of the joint sitting may be moved by a minister.

(10)    A motion for the purpose of fixing the next meeting of the joint sitting may be moved by a minister at any time provided that there is no question before the Chair.

(11)    Questions, other than that the third reading of a disputed bill be agreed to, will be decided by a simple majority of the members present and voting.

(12)    In the event of an equality of votes on a question, the question is taken to have been defeated.

(13)    (a)    Whenever the Chair states, on putting a question, that the ‘ayes’ or ‘noes’ (as the case may be) have it, the Chair’s opinion may be challenged by a member calling for a division.

(b)    When a division is requested, the Clerk will ring the bells for three minutes as indicated by the timer.

(c)    When the bells have stopped ringing, the Chair calls for the doors to be locked. After that a member must not leave the Chamber until after the division has been completed.

(d)    When successive divisions are taken without any intervening debate, the Chair will direct that the bells be rung for one minute.

(e)    After the doors are locked the Chair restates the question and directs the ayes to the right side of the Chamber and the noes to the left side of the Chamber. The Chair appoints two or more tellers for each side.

(f)    Votes may only be cast by members present in the Chamber and every member present must vote.

(g)    If two tellers cannot be found for one side of the question, the Chair must immediately declare the resolution of the joint sitting.

(h)    The tellers count the votes and record the members’ names. On receiving a report from the tellers, the Chair announces the result to the joint sitting.

(14)    Where a bill is passed in accordance with the Constitution Act 1975 s 65G, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the Clerk of the Legislative Council will endorse the certified copy of the bill to that effect.

(15)    The records of the proceedings and the ballot papers will be retained by the Clerk of the Parliaments who will destroy the ballot papers after one year.