Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

As Chair of the Petitions Committee it's a privilege to present petitions and ministers' responses to petitions to the House each sitting Monday. However, today I'd like to mention the other opportunities available to members during the sitting week to present petitions on behalf of their constituents.

While most petitions are presented by the Chair of the Petitions Committee, it's not uncommon for another member to present a petition on a topic of particular interest to them and their constituency. Any member may present a petition without needing to seek leave during the periods for 90-second statements in the House and Federation Chamber, constituency statements in the Federation Chamber, the grievance debate in the Federation Chamber and the adjournment debate in the House and Federation Chamber. When presenting a petition a member will usually take the opportunity to speak about the subject matter of the petition and the community members who organised it.

Importantly, a petition should first be approved by the Petitions Committee as meeting the requirements for petitions as set out in the standing orders before it is presented. If a petition has not yet been approved, a member may seek leave to present the petition as a document; however, this is not recommended.

If a member wishes to present a petition, they should inform the Petitions Committee secretariat and arrange a speaking time with their whip. Once approved by the Petitions Committee the hard-copy petition will then be delivered to the member for presentation.

So far this parliament 11 petitions have been presented by members outside of the Monday morning presentation by the Petitions Committee.

However they are presented, petitions continue to be an effective way for us to engage with the people we represent on issues that are important to them.

I thank the House.

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