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.

A code of conduct for members of the House of Representatives?

The House of Representatives is currently debating a motion, moved by Independent MP Rob Oakeshott, to introduce a code of conduct covering members of the House of Representatives. The motion is based on the recommendations in the report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests on a draft code of conduct for members of parliament.

The motion is supported by the Government but the Manager of Opposition Business, Christopher Pyne, has confirmed that the Coalition will not support the motion if the relevant Senate committee has not reported on a code for the upper house.  He said that the Coalition had adopted this approach because ‘it would be peculiar if the House of Representatives had a code of conduct and the Senate didn’t'.

The Senate Standing Committee on Senators’ Interests is due to report on a code of conduct for senators on 27 November 2012. 

A Handbook for the 43rd Parliament

The Parliamentary Library recently published the 2011 edition of the Parliamentary Handbook. The Handbook is a comprehensive guide to the 43rd Parliament. The biographical section includes details of the parliamentary service and political career of each Senator and Member, as well as some personal particulars. The Handbook also provides statistics on the age, length of service, qualifications and previous occupations of the current Parliament, together with data on the 2010 elections as well as a map of federal electoral divisions. Valuable lists and tables concerning the history of the Australian Parliament are provided, such as lists of Governors-General, Presiding Officers, Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition, Ministers, Shadow Ministers and all Senators and Members since 1901. The Handbook also includes a copy of the Constitution, and detailed information on all referendums and plebiscites.

The Handbook can be used as a source document for questions such as:
Where can I get a list of Prime Ministers since 1901, with their terms of office?
Where can I find biographical information on MPs?
Who is the longest serving MP?
How many women MPs have there been since 1901?
Which MPs were born overseas?
Where can I find information on electorates?
What was the composition of the Senate in 1996?
When is the latest possible date for the next election?
How many referendums have been successful?

Full text of the Parliamentary Handbook can be accessed online, and hard copies can also be ordered from the Parliament Shop at $70 each.

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’.

Federal election 2010 - retirements

A number of Members and Senators have announced their intention not to re-contest the upcoming federal election. Nineteen Members of the House of Representatives (12.6% of the 150 seat chamber) and five Senators (6.5% of the 76 seat chamber) have indicated that they will retire at the election: