CHECK AGAN ELIER EMBARGOED UNTIL DE~ LIVERY
PARLIAMENTARY SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM
21 FEBRUARY 1991
Mr Speaker
Parliament stands at the centre of our nation's public
affairs. Reform of Parliament is reform of the central
institution of Australian public life. This motion
therefore is of the highest importance, seeking as it does
to help ensure the continuing relevance and efficiency of
this institution and its members. It is a particularly
significant motion given that it comes so soon after the
introduction of the televising of the proceedings of this
House. Let me say al: the outset that I fully endorse the words of
Alan Browning in Houqp of Renresentativpq Practice-: " It is
important that the people know and understand, at least in
broad terms, what the Parliament is, and what it does, how
it works, what happens there and what is said there".
( p 734)
The business of Parliament is indeed best conducted in the
full light of public scrutiny.
Our decision to televise the proceedings of the House of
Representatives has brought Parliament closer to the
Australian people and has made them more fully aware of the
scope and significance of the activities that take place
here. In historical and in contemporary terms, it is highly
appropriate that it should be a Labor Government that
introduced the televising of Parliamentary procedures. It
was, after aLl, a Labor Government that introduced the
broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings by radio in 1946.
And it has been a recurring theme of this Government that
public access to Parliament should be facilitated and
encouraged wherever possible.
It was this Government that established the Parliamentary
Education Office in 1988 to prepare information about
Parliament for dissemination to schools throughout
Australia. More than 100,000 Australian school students
visit Parliament House each year, and many of them take part
in learning programs in the Parliamentary Education Centre
in this building. In the same vein, it was this Government
that established the Citizenship Visits Program to assist
children from remote schools visit Parliament.
Mr Speaker
A complementary theme of the Government's reforms to
Parliament has been our concern that the procedures of this
House be clear, rational and efficient, so as to allow
Members of Parliament to fulfil their responsibilities to
those whom they represent.
This Government has accordingly introduced significant
procedural reforms to enhance the quality of Members'
parliamentary role.
We introduced the Thursday morning debates on private
members' business a popular and successful innovation that
has brought a very considerable range of issues to
Parliament's attention. We revolutionised the sitting hours
of this Chamber to make them more rational and more humane;
they now allow a much better balance to be struck between
members' parliamentary and electorate responsibilities.
I now wish to inform the House that the Government proposes
to introduce another reform to the procedures of this House
that will further widen the scope of Members' parliamentary
role. Following consultation with the Opposition Leader and
the Manager of Opposition Business, and subsequently with
you, Mr Speaker, the Government now proposes, with this
motion, to amend standing orders to allow an Advisory Debate
to be held once or twice each. Parliamentary session.
The purpose of an Advisory Debate will be to allow Members
of the House of Representatives the opportunity to offer
their advice to the Government on significant matters of
public interest before the Government.
I want to see constructive and wide-ranging debates, not
restricted to particular pieces of legislation as is the
case with many debates in this House, nor overshadowed by a
partisan, adversarial atmosphere. The topics of Advisory
Debates will be determined by the Government, since it is
the Government that is seeking Parliament's advice. It is
proposed that the relevant Minister or Ministers will be
present during the debate but that Ministers will not
contribute to the debate except for a brief summation, as
the final speaker. This is to allow Government backbenchers
and the Opposition the maximum opportunity to make their
views known.
It is proposed that an Advisory Debate be held on a
Wednesday; that it commence at 10 am; and that it run up to,
if necessary, but not beyond, the 2 pm commencement of
Question Time. Each speaker should be restricted to
minutes to allow the maximum number of participants in the
debate. The Government is genuine in its desire that the views of
ParliamentariLans on significant issues be made known to it.
I propose that the first Advisory Debate be held on
Wednesday 6 March on the topic of Ecologically Sustainable
Development. I envisage that debate will cover but of course need not
be restricted to topics such as the Ecologically
Sustainable Development working groups that are currently
conducting their inquiries and the role of the Resource
Assessment Commission and its inquiries. I trust Honourable
Members will support this initiative and participate
actively in -the first and subsequent Advisory Debates.
Mr Speaker
Last year the Government raised two other issues of
Parliamentary reform with the Opposition.
The first, dealing with possible changes to Question Time,
failed to eliLcit either support or an alternative proposal
from the Opposition. Consequently, this matter will lapse.
The second, dealing with the possible introduction of
electronic voting, does have the in principle support of
both sides of the House. It may be that the Procedures
Committee will wish to consider which of the range of
options would be most suitable. However, I am advised by
you, Mr Speaker, that a system of electronic voting would
cost between $ 1 million and $ 2 million to install and
perhaps another $ 0.5 million a year to operate. In view of
the likely cost, I do not believe that Parliament should
start down this track at the present time. It is certainly
not a matter to which the Government attaches any immediate
priority. Mr Speaker
The Government will remain open to any further proposals
that may be put that genuinely and constructively seek to
facilitate Members' parliamentary performance. This
proposal for Advisory Debates, coming as it does in the wake
of the decision to televise Parliament, shows our concern to
ensure Parliament remains relevant and accessible to our
masters, the people of Australia.