Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have the opportunity to speak on petitions tonight. The new House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions can report to the House that the changes made at the beginning of 2008 to the way that the electorates of Australia can petition the parliament, the way those petitions are dealt with and the responses to those petitions are going very well. Some members are well aware of and on top of the changes, and the new petitions procedures are working extremely well. I ask members to bring themselves up to speed on the new procedures and to really encourage their electorates to take advantage of the new processes. The committee has had very positive feedback on the new system, and we are all enjoying being on this new committee, which is giving people an opportunity to have their petitions presented in new ways to the Australian parliament.

Petitioning is an old process which goes back centuries and centuries. I have learnt from history that people on both sides of my family who were convicted of certain offences years ago had petitions taken up on their behalf, to no avail, unfortunately—or maybe fortunately for me since I am here. We all understand that petitioning has been around for a long time, and I know that some members are quite pleased that there is a new process in place.

Now the Petitions Committee can hold hearings, call witnesses from government departments and also visit states and territories, which we are intending to do, to hear concerns of principal petitioners. They now make up the main process of petitioning. There must be a principal petitioner who the committee can contact for details and also to seek clarification. We now have a way of giving petitions a deeper meaning for the Australian people, and that is a very fine thing.

The committee has held several public hearings here in Canberra and they have worked out very well. We have gained great information for many people who have petitioned the parliament. I moved just recently that the Petitions Committee hold an inquiry into introducing an electronic petitioning scheme for the House of Representatives. Not only young people but many other people as well can find it very hard to find ways of accessing the parliament that they feel give them some voice in the parliament. So many may find using modern communications and being able to e-petition the parliament a way of doing that.

There are many issues that we need to deal with in this area, and I hope that some of the submissions will give us some opportunities for overcoming some of those issues as we seek answers through our inquiry. I look forward to the maturing of our committee and the maturing of the opportunities that we as a parliament now have to take this new direction in letting people petition the parliament. If people feel that they have a message for the parliament, they can receive answers to the petitions that they present to the parliament. It is a great opportunity. I am very honoured to be a member of the committee and I look forward, as I said, to the maturing of the processes in the future.