Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, members' engagement with the petitions process is a vital and longstanding facet of Australian democracy. Indeed, members have a role to play at every stage of the petitioning process. From the early stages when potential petitioners are seeking information on the House and its processes to getting the petition presented in the House and receiving a response, members have a part to play. As Chair of the Petitions Committee, I think it is useful in my first statement of the year to remind members of how they can be involved in bringing petitions to the attention of the House.

Members and their offices are sometimes approached by constituents interested in starting a petition on a matter that is important to them or their community. When assisting with prospective petitions, members should be aware that under standing orders they are not able to sign petitions, nor are they able to act as principal petitioners. Nonetheless, members and their offices can assist petitioners to ensure that draft petitions meet the standing order requirements by pointing petitioners to the Petitions Committee website. I recommend that anyone seeking to petition the House consult the committee website as it contains much useful information on the form petitions should take, including an explanation of the relevant standing orders and a petition template.

After the petition has been prepared and signatures gathered, many petitioners send their petitions to their local member for lodgement with the parliament. I would like to take this opportunity to remind members that, when they receive petitions, they should submit them to the Petitions Committee for consideration before they present them. It is very important that members do so as any petition presented before being considered by the committee is received as a document until such time as it has been certified as meeting the requirements. This often means there is a delay in referring a petition to the responsible minister.

When presenting petitions on behalf of petitioners, members are drawing the attention of the House and relevant minister to an issue that may be significant in their electorate or to the wider Australian community. In some cases, petitions may be on issues about which the members presenting these may feel strongly, or members may present petitions with which they do not necessarily agree. The act of presenting a petition does not necessarily indicate members endorse its contents. In presenting petitions, members are performing an important democratic function.

Members have a range of options for presenting petitions which are found to meet the requirements—for example, during members' statements in the House, members' constituency statements in the Federation Chamber, adjournment debate in the House and the Federation Chamber, or grievance debate in the Federation Chamber.

When members present petitions, they will be informed of any response received from a minister or any other actions taken. Through their involvement in petitions, not only can members help keep the House informed of important developments in the Australian community but members can also keep themselves informed of developments and issues in their electorates that are important to their constituents.

Of course, petitions not presented by members are presented by me, as Petitions Committee chair, during this timeslot on sitting Mondays.

I would like to finish by encouraging my colleagues to contact the Petitions Committee secretariat when approached by petitioners, particularly before the petitioners begin to gather signatures. The secretariat can provide feedback to the people organising petitions, which can assist them to meet the requirements. In this way, members can act as a conduit between the Petitions Committee and constituents organising petitions, helping to ensure that these constituents get access to the full range of benefits that petitioning the House can bring.