Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I present the 16th report of the Petitions Committee for the 45th Parliament, together with 29 petitions and eight ministerial responses to petitions previously presented. I also present with this report a corrigendum to report No. 15, which was presented on 11 September 2017.

Petitions often reflect community concerns. This report, for example, contains six petitions on the same-sex marriage debate as well as two petitions regarding citizenship requirements for parliamentarians. We also continue to receive petitions on immigration matters, climate change and international affairs. Petitions about concerns unique to individuals also continue to arrive on a range of other matters as diverse as our country itself, from coalmines to fuel quality, from private health to national road rules. The issues are many and varied.

It's wonderful that so many Australians are interested in engaging with the House of Representatives via the Petitions Committee. The Petitions Committee provides an avenue for these people’s voices to be heard about things that matter to them. The House’s e-petitioning system has made it even easier for people to have their say electronically, and the committee’s inquiry into the e-petitions system has demonstrated this.

We have been surveying people about their experiences with the e-petitions system and, while there are some areas of concern, the results so far have shown it's working well and it's making it easier for people to put their concerns to their elected representatives. We've also received some valuable submissions from users of the system as well as from domestic and international jurisdictions letting us know what has worked in their e-petition system, what hasn’t and what lessons they've learnt. All of this evidence will give the committee some direction for its current inquiry on how to improve the e-petitions system and this will be incorporated into the committee’s report.

I will continue to provide updates to the House on the work of the Petitions Committee and the inquiry into e-petitions.