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Title

Ch9 Motions / MOTIONS RELATING TO THE STANDING ORDERS / Motion to suspend standing or sessional orders

Database

House Practice

Date

01-05-2005

Source

House of Reps

Parl No.

41

Chapter

Motions

Chapter No.

Chapter 09

Page

330

Section No.

 

System Id

procedural/practcer/chapter09.73.doc


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Ch9 Motions / MOTIONS RELATING TO THE STANDING ORDERS / Motion to suspend standing or sessional orders



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House of Representatives                                Ch 9                                                 p 330

 

Motions / MOTIONS RELATING TO THE STANDING ORDERS

 

Motion to suspend standing or sessional orders

Standing order 47 provides that:

(a) A Member may move, with or without notice, the suspension of any standing or other order of the House.

(b) If a suspension motion is moved on notice, it shall appear on the Notice Paper and may be carried by a majority of votes.

(c) If a suspension motion is moved without notice it:

(i)  must be relevant to any business under discussion and seconded; and

(ii)  can be carried only by an absolute majority of Members.

(d) Any suspension of orders shall be limited to the particular purpose of the suspension.

Thus, like any other motion, a motion to suspend standing orders is moved pursuant to notice or by leave of the House. However, it can also be moved without notice in cases of necessity.

Motions to suspend the standing orders are most commonly moved in order to:

  • facilitate the progress of business through the House;

  • extend or reduce time limits for speeches;

  • enable a motion to be moved without notice; and

  • enable a particular item of business to be called on immediately.

    • The standing or sessional orders may be suspended by the House only, and not by the Main Committee. The position is summarised in the following statement from the Chair (in relation to the former committee of the whole):

    The standing orders are established by the House sitting as a House and cannot be amended or suspended by a Committee of the Whole. The Committee is a creature of the House and has no right or power to vary a decision of the superior body. 1

    The House may, of course, suspend standing or sessional orders in relation to proceedings that may take place later in the Main Committee. 2

    As with other motions, a motion to suspend standing or sessional orders requires a seconder, with the exception that a seconder is not required for a motion moved by a Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary) or the Chief Government Whip. 3 A motion may relate to matters not yet before the House 4 and the standing orders may be suspended for more than one purpose. 5 While other business is before the House, a motion to suspend standing orders will not be received by the Chair unless the substance of the motion is relevant to the item of business. If it is not relevant to the item of business, it cannot be moved until the item is disposed of—that is, between items of business. 6 A particular standing or sessional order may be suspended in order to achieve a single object. More commonly however the object is achieved by a motion expressed in the terms ‘That so much of the standing (and sessional) orders be suspended as would prevent . . . ’.



    VP 1970-72/827; H.R. Deb. (9.11.71) 3181.



    VP 1954-55/286 (committee of the whole); VP 1996-98/551.



    S.O. 116. On one occasion a motion not seconded was agreed to by the House and the Speaker later stated that he was satisfied that the will of the House had been discharged, H.R. Deb. (27.10.77) 2557-8; H.R. Deb. (1.11.77) 2593-4.



    H.R. Deb. (3.11.15) 7131; H.R. Deb. (10.11.15) 7406-7.



    H.R. Deb. (11.8.04) 4149.



    VP 1983-84/543; H. R. Deb. (27.3.84) 803.