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Ch8 Order of business and the sitting day / ADJOURNMENT / Standing orders provisions / Motion moved by a Minister



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House of Representatives                                Ch 8                                                 p 262

 

Order of business and the sitting day / ADJOURNMENT / Standing orders provisions

 

Motion moved by a Minister

The motion ‘That the House do now adjourn’ can be moved only by a Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary) and no amendment can be moved to it. 1 The motion cannot be moved while another question is before the Chair. 2 The motion may be debated without limitation of time, subject to the closure and the automatic adjournment provisions. Debate on the motion cannot be adjourned.

As with other motions the reply of the mover closes the debate. 3 The mover has again addressed the House, by leave, without closing the debate. 4 After the mover has spoken in reply, individual Members have addressed the House, by leave, 5 and standing orders have been suspended to enable the debate to continue. 6 Also, during the course of the debate, the mover has made a statement, by leave, and later has spoken in reply. 7

The motion for the adjournment has been withdrawn, by leave, to allow the presentation of a committee report, 8 and to allow a motion for the alteration of the hour of next meeting to be moved. 9 In 1959 the motion was moved immediately after questions without notice and debated while the House awaited certain legislation from the Senate. When the legislation had not arrived some four hours later, the motion was withdrawn, by leave, and a motion granting leave of absence to all Members and a special adjournment motion were agreed to. A further adjournment motion was then moved and agreed to. 10 In a similar situations in more recent years the adjournment was moved early and debated for some time after standing orders had been suspended, by leave, to enable Members to speak for a specified period (one period of 10 minutes). This motion was then negatived on the receipt of awaited Senate messages. After consideration of the legislation concerned a second adjournment motion was moved and agreed to. 11



S.O. 32(a). Standing orders have been suspended to enable a private Member to move the motion, VP 1998-2001/2692



H.R. Deb. (9.4.08) 10451.



S.O. 71.



VP 1967-68/143.



VP 1960-61/252.



VP 1960-61/252.



VP 1940-43/118; H.R. Deb. (3.4.41) 703-11.



VP 1964-66/151.



VP 1929-31/803.



VP 1959-60/311; H.R. Deb. (27.11.59) 3299, 3316. In 1993 on one sitting day the House twice debated, and negatived, adjournment motions while awaiting Senate messages; VP 1993-95/90-92.



 E.g. VP 1993-94/1723, 1754; VP 2002-04/1579.