'That's it, you're out': disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives

On Wednesday 11 December 2013, 10 Labor MPs were ordered to withdraw from the House of Representatives for one hour ('sin binned') by the Speaker, the Hon Bronwyn Bishop. Seven of these were during Question Time, two during a motion to suspend standing orders which occurred at the end of this period and one during a ministerial statement later in the evening. Each 'sin binning' occurred during questions and debate about the automotive industry.

As many as this may seem, it is not the most number of ejections in a single day nor during Question Time. The greatest number of members ‘sin binned’ on a single day (11) occurred on 2 November 2005. Speaker David Hawker ordered out eight Labor members during Question Time and Deputy Speaker Ian Causley ordered out three Labor members during a Matter of Public Importance (MPI) debate. The greatest number of ‘sin binnings’ from Question Time occurred on 21 March 2012 when nine members were ‘sin binned’.

A recent study by the Parliamentary Library, 'That's it, you're out': disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 2013, found that of the 1,093 members who served during this period, 300 (27.4%) were disciplined for disorderly behaviour, such as interjecting, refusing to withdraw a remark, disregarding the authority of the Chair, by being named, named and suspended or sin binned.

Parliament House 25th anniversary chronology

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Parliamentary Library has recently updated its chronology of Australia’s Parliament House, first published in March 2013 to celebrate the building’s 25th anniversary as the home of the Commonwealth Parliament. The chronology presents defining events and turning points in the evolution of the building and its landscape setting, as well as a selection of milestones in the history of the Commonwealth Parliament right up to the present.

Electoral quotas for women: an international overview

Dorothy Tangney DBE
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
courtesy Australian Freedom of Panorama

Electoral quotas for women: an international overview, published by the Parliamentary Library, provides an overview of recent global trends in women’s political representation and the different types of gender quotas adopted. Drawing on recent international research, it explains the impact of electoral quotas, what influences their success, and the various arguments for and against their use. The paper also looks at electoral gender quotas in Australia, and describes the use of quota systems in other Commonwealth countries. 

Zippers: former prime ministers leaving parliament

Of Australia’s 28 Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd has become only the fourth former prime minister to have lost an election or the leadership of his party and resigned from parliament shortly afterwards, bringing about a by-election.

Time period between election date and first sitting date

It is up to the government to decide when parliamentary sittings will commence following an election, provided that the first sitting day is no later than 30 days from the date of the return of the writs. The election timetable is governed by the Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. According to the timetable, the date of the return of the writs for the election is to be no longer than 100 days after it is issued, which is within 10 days after the election is announced.

First speeches

With the 44th Parliament due to open on 12 November new members will be making their first speeches in the opening weeks or months of the new parliament. The Chamber departments provide detailed notes for the guidance of new members when they are preparing their first speeches; this brief contains more general information and some historical background.

Tweeting from the Chamber

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

On 12 March 2013, the Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne asked Speaker Anna Burke to make a ruling on a tweet by Member for Bendigo, Steve Gibbons during question time, asking for the Member to withdraw.

Steve Gibbons‏@SteveGibbonsMP

Looks like @tonyabbottmhr has contracted out his nasty side to interjector's in the public gallery. A new low even for the Libs!

Mr Gibbons had tweeted this after two people had been ejected from the public gallery in succession, for interjecting during Question Time.

New rules for media-related activity in Parliament House and its precincts

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

On 28 November 2012 the Presiding Officers issued new rules for media-related activity in Parliament House and its precincts. The rules will come into effect with the commencement of the 2013 parliamentary sittings on 5 February 2013 replacing the previous rules and guidelines on filming and photography (issued December 2008). The rules will apply to all occupants of Parliament House and visitors to the building and its precincts.

Casual vacancies in the Senate

On 27 February Labor Senator Mark Arbib announced his intention to resign from the Ministry and the Senate. His resignation from the Ministry took effect from 2 March, and he resigned from the Senate on 5 March.

This FlagPost lists recent casual vacancies and describes the steps for filling them.

MPs moving straight into the Ministry

On 2 March 2012, the Prime Minister the Hon. Julia Gillard announced Bob Carr would join the Senate and take on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Carr becomes one of only eight Ministers moving straight into ministry on commencement in the Commonwealth Parliament. In two cases the new minister had no parliamentary experience at all; in the six other cases the appointee had prior parliamentary and ministerial experience in a State Parliament.

ALP Leadership

On 23 February 2012 Prime Minister Gillard announced that there would be a special meeting of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party on Monday 27 February at 10am, to conduct a ballot to decide the leadership of the Party.

The following table provides details of Federal Parliamentary Labor Party leadership changes and challenges since 1982:

Renaming of the Main Committee

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Peter Slipper, announced today that after discussions with the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition Business and Independent Members, he proposes the Main Committee chamber is to be renamed as the Federation Chamber of the House of Representatives. A proposal is expected to come before the House in the near future regarding the renaming of the Main Committee.

Addresses to joint meetings of the Australian Parliament

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

 Following an invitation from Prime Minister Julia Gillard, United States President Barack Obama will visit Australia on 16–17 November 2011 to coincide with the 60th Anniversary of the ANZUS Alliance. On 3 November 2011, the House of Representatives passed a motion to invite President Obama to address the House on 17 November 2011 and to invite Senators to attend the House as guests at a joint meeting of the Houses. President Obama's address will be the tenth occasion that a foreign Head of State or dignitary addresses the Australian parliament and will be the fourth US President to do so. Table 1 lists all addresses to joint meetings of the Australian parliament by Heads of State and foreign dignitaries.

Time in Government since Federation

On Monday 28 March 2011 Barry O’Farrell was sworn in as Premier of New South Wales thus ending the Labor Party’s 16-year period in office. The Liberal/National Coalition’s win in NSW brings to three the current number of non-Labor governments in Australia’s nine federal, state and territory jurisdictions (Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales).

This is the first time since Federation that these three states have been under Coalition control while Labor is in power in the other six jurisdictions. It is quite the norm for there to be a mix of Labor and non-Labor jurisdictions. There have been only six periods when all federal and state governments were of the same political persuasion with non-Labor predominating.

Members of Parliament salary and entitlements

On 24 March the Special Minister of State, Hon Gary Gray, introduced the Remuneration and other legislation amendment bill 2011. This bill provides, among other matters, for the Remuneration Tribunal to determine MP’s base salary, currently $136 640, and ends the Parliament’s ability to disallow the remuneration determinations, that is senators’ and members’ pay increases. The Bill also requires the Tribunal, an independent statutory authority, to publish its reasons for the determination.

Since 1990 the Remuneration Tribunal has only had an advisory power with regard to the annual allowance (or base salary). After the relevant determinations are tabled, Parliament may resolve to disapprove (disallow) the determinations. In 1974 Parliament disallowed the Tribunal’s determination increasing the annual allowance to $20 000 per annum. In the thirty years since then Parliament has also modified determinations, postponed increases and enacted reduced allowances previously determined by the Tribunal. The most recent example of wage restraint was the pay freeze that occurred from 1 July 2008.

Hung parliaments and minority governments

A recent Parliamentary Library paper examines the hung Commonwealth Parliament, the formation of the minority ALP Government, and voting dynamics in the House of Representatives together with a number of related issues such as the next federal election and hung parliaments and minority governments at the state/territory level.

After a hung Parliament emerged from the 2010 federal election (the first in almost 70 years), both the ALP and the Opposition engaged in negotiations with the cross-bench parliamentarians in order to form government. The ALP was ultimately successful, forming government in mid-September 2010 after signing agreements with the Australian Greens and with three of the other cross-bench members. These agreements provide a basic level of support for the Government and cover a range of matters including working relationships between the signatories, parliamentary reforms and policy agendas.

Sitting days for 2011

The sitting pattern for the House of Representatives was issued on 22 November 2010. In 2011 the House is scheduled to sit for 68 days (or 71 if required). The mean number of sitting days since 1996, in non-election years, is 70.5 days.

Conscience votes in the federal Parliament

On 29 September 2010 the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, introduced the Restoring Territory Rights (Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation) Bill 2010 into the Senate. All political parties have granted their senators and members a conscience vote on this legislation. This is the first conscience vote in the federal parliament since the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill was debated in 2006.

Members of Parliament salary

On 24 August 2010 the Remuneration Tribunal released a Statement on its 2010 Review of Remuneration for Holders of Public Office. Holders of Public Office include, among others, Senators and Members of the Federal Parliament. The Tribunal announced that it had ‘determined an adjustment of 4.1% to the remuneration of public offices in its jurisdiction with effect from 1 August 2010’.

Early election

The House of Representatives that is emerging from the 2010 election, and the fact that the next government will be a minority government, raises the spectre of the electorate going to the polls well before the next federal election would otherwise be expected. If an election takes place prior to mid-2013 it will only be for the House of Representatives and the territory senators; the rest of the Senate will not be in play unless there is a double dissolution.