John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, in recent statements I have outlined the role of the House Standing Committee on Petitions and the support role of its secretariat. Today I will discuss the responsibilities of the members of the House of Representatives regarding the petitioning process.

Members play a key role in the House's petitions process. Members' electorate offices are often the first port of call of a local citizen trying to solve a bureaucratic puzzle, vent a grievance, or simply ask about legislation or government administration. Members provide a direct and very accessible link between the House of Representatives and the citizens in the communities they represent, as you know, Deputy Speaker Burke. The ability of a person to come in direct contact with a member, and/or the small team of staff in a member's office, becomes increasingly attractive as citizens everywhere are moved further away from personal interaction due to the expansion of computerised—and often globalised—communication and transactions.

Parallel to this, the widespread uptake of internet usage and the increasing digitisation of public documents has provided much greater access to information for the average Australian in the street. This has enabled some citizens to navigate government information far more easily and to work independently towards finding a solution to their concerns. It also means people have more information—and more confidence—about what options they have when they engage with decision makers. For others, however, the ability to access or properly navigate information online may be hampered for a myriad of reasons and they may prefer a more traditional method of gathering information and engaging with their community. For example, they may prefer face-to-face contact. This means that although the Petitions Committee provides useful online resources and can assist through telephone, email and mail contact, members' electorate offices may be the first and sometimes only place that citizens will contact when they are interested in drawing up a petition.

The secretariat of the Petitions Committee provides members' electorate offices with resources to assist them to educate prospective petitioners about petitioning requirements and I thank all the members of that secretariat for the great job they do in supporting me and the committee. These include brochures on how to prepare a petition on a federal matter, along with information about the committee's website which publishes an easy to read information sheet containing a sample petition format and also publishes the terms of petitions already presented and ministerial responses to them.

As you would expect, the committee has found that members generally have a dedicated, positive and sincere attitude to petitioning. Many of their offices retain direct liaison with petitioners from start to finish. They may forward inquiries to the committee secretariat on behalf of a prospective petitioner and act as the conduit for suggestions on draft petitions. Some members provide a collection point for a petition and then deliver the petition to Parliament House. Many members do this regularly. When it comes to presentation of petitions, some members wish to do this themselves and may indicate their support for a petition when doing so. Others will simply present a petition as a service to people in their electorate. There is no obligation on members to present a petition but, because the Petitions Committee has this regular presentation timeslot on sitting Mondays, all petitions found to be in order can be presented quickly to the House. However, I stress two very important points: I urge members who receive petitions to deliver them to the Petitions Committee as soon as possible for processing—and presentation, if necessary; and I also urge members who choose to present a petition to arrange to do that as quickly as they can after it has been certified and returned to them. These things matter because the most significant follow-up action—referral to a minister for response—can only occur after a petition has been presented. So, if members find they cannot present petitions, they should return them to the committee so it can arrange for their presentation at this time on a sitting Monday. The slight downside to this is that, as chair of the committee, I present petitions and make an announcement on behalf of the committee. We may or may not agree with the content of petitions, and the individual announcements I make are neutral and succinct, although not usually as brief as today's announcement.

Finally, I draw attention to standing order 205(c) which stipulates that a member must not be a principal petitioner, nor may they sign a petition. Members may assist a petitioner to frame their request so as to meet standing order requirements—however, we expect the petition itself and the signature collection process will be owned by the principal petitioner. This does not prevent a member from lending support to petitioners, but it does help to ensure that petitioning remains a genuine and worthwhile process.

In summary, members will be aware of the way their local citizens and the broader Australian community value the longstanding democratic activity of petitioning. We recognise the diverse ways they support constituents to engage in petitioning. We encourage members to continue to assist constituents after a petition has been finalised and delivered to them. This involves passing the petition quickly to the committee and, after certification, presenting it or arranging for me to present it as soon as possible. Finally, it is worth remembering that whilst the Petitions Committee and all members have a responsibility to assist petitioners who wish to use the House's petitioning process we are, in effect, conduits. Petitions themselves belong to the petitioners and their House. Thank you.