Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is of interest to note that all of the petitions presented this morning are e-petitions, confirming the growth and the growing interest in this method of petitioning the House. The subjects covered are wideranging. However, in recent times there has been a notable interest in human rights issues, including offshore detention of asylum seekers, the protests in Hong Kong and the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. These are all issues on which the House has a power to act—a key requirement under the standing orders. These areas are prescribed in part 5, sections 51 and 52 of the Australian Constitution, which states:

The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth …

Some broad examples include trade, taxation, communications, the armed forces, quarantine, census and statistics, banking, copyright, immigration, marriage, pensions and foreign affairs.

Many petitions are received requesting action over which the House does not have the power to act, and these frequently fall under state or local jurisdiction. Some examples of petitions found out of order for this reason include a request to change the law for learner and provisional motorcyclists to be the same as car drivers, a request to reinstate passenger rail services to the Spencer Gulf in South Australia and a request to replace wired fencing with an overpass to protect koalas on Picton Road in New South Wales. Although some petitions do not meet requirements, the committee and the secretariat continue to assist members of the public by providing advice on the best forum to have their voice heard.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, I look forward to further updating the House on the work of the Petitions Committee.