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Title

Ch10 Legislation / PROCEDURAL VARIATIONS FOR PASSAGE OF BILLS / Bills declared urgent / Proceedings under guillotine

Database

House Practice

Date

01-05-2005

Source

House of Reps

Parl No.

41

Chapter

Legislation

Chapter No.

Chapter 10

Page

388

Section No.

 

System Id

procedural/practcer/chapter10.92.doc


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Ch10 Legislation / PROCEDURAL VARIATIONS FOR PASSAGE OF BILLS / Bills declared urgent / Proceedings under guillotine



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House of Representatives                                Ch 10                                                 p 388

 

Legislation / PROCEDURAL VARIATIONS FOR PASSAGE OF BILLS / Bills declared urgent

 

Proceedings under guillotine

When the time for each stag e expires in accordance with the allotment of time, the debate is interrupted and the Chair puts (1) the question immediately before the Chair and (2) any other question necessary to conclude proceedings for that stage. 1 At the expiration of time for the detail stage, the immediate question is put by the Chair and a further question is then put on the remainder of the bill. This includes postponed clauses, and any amendments, new clauses and schedules, copies of which have been circulated by the Government at least two hours before the end of the allotted time, which are treated as if they have been moved. 2

If an allotment of time is in the form ‘for the remaining stages’, at the expiry of time the immediate question before the Chair is put and then any further question is put which is needed to dispose of the business before the House—for example, the question ‘That the remaining stages of the bill be agreed to’. 3 However, if there are government amendments (which have been circulated at least two hours before the end of the allotted time) to be taken into account in such circumstances and the time for the remaining stages of the bill has expired before the detail stage has been reached, or when time has been allotted for the completion of the detail stage but it has expired, the House determines immediately the question ‘That the bill and the amendments (and/or new clauses) circulated by the Government be agreed to’. The final question is then put ‘That the bill be now read a third time’. 4

If the allotment of time agreed to relates to the remaining stages of the bill, and the time expires during the second reading debate, and there are circulated government amendments to be taken into account, the following sequence is followed:

  • question—That the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question (if there is a second reading amendment);

  • question—That the bill be now read a second time;

  • message(s) from the Governor-General to be announced;

  • question—That the bill and the amendments (new clauses and schedules) circulated by the Government be agreed to;

  • question—That the bill be now read a third time. 5

    • By resolving that particular stages of certain bills should conclude at specified times, the House overrides, by deliberate decision, the requirement in the standing orders for a motion for a future day to be fixed for the third reading. It is therefore in order for the Minister to move that the bill be read a third time without the grant of leave. Even when debate concludes before the expiry of time, the current practice is that leave is not required. However, where it is the wish of the House to proceed to the third reading immediately (that is, to bypass consideration in detail), leave is required for this. 6

    When the expiry of time has prevented opposition or other non-government Members from moving intended amendments which had been circulated, the Chair has allowed the unmoved amendments to be incorporated in Hansard so that their intentions could be recorded. 7 If the time expires while a Member is moving a motion to suspend standing orders, the motion lapses. 8

    The closure motion cannot be moved while any proceedings in respect of which time has been allotted are being considered. 9 This prohibition also applies to a motion for reconsideration of a bill, as such a motion is considered to come within ‘the remaining stages of the bill’. However, the closure can be moved on the motion for allotment of time. 10 The closure can also be moved on a motion moved after the second reading to refer the bill to a select committee, if it has not been included in the motion for allotment of time. 11 Such a motion would not be considered to be included in the motion for allotment of time if the bill is considered in the following stages: (1) second reading; (2) detail stage; (3) remaining stages. It would be considered to be included if the bill is considered as follows: (1) second reading; (2) remaining stages.

    A motion to reconsider the bill may be moved at the appropriate time during consideration of the remaining stages of a bill. 12



    VP 1978-80/445;VP 1998-2001/248.



    S.O. 85(b)(ii); VP 1983-84/716.



    VP 1993-95/89.



    VP 1970-72/619-25.



    VP 1970-72/620-5; and see , for a more limited number of questions, VP 1990-92/361-2; VP 1993-95/381-2.



    VP 1987-89/886 (two bills) and 1990-92/359-61 (three bills)— but see also VP 1985-87/1286 (three bills); VP 1998-2001/248.



    E.g. H.R. Deb. (11.4.86) 2129-2; H.R. Deb. (6.9.93) 932-3, 934-5.



    H.R. Deb. (14.11.2002) 9147.



    S.O. 85(c).



    VP 1937-40/428-9.



    VP 1934-37/481-3.



    VP 1923-24/175.