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House of Representatives                                Ch 16                                                 p 560

Selection Committee

The timetable and order of business for committee and delegation reports and private Members’ business is the responsibility of the Selection Committee, appointed at the commencement of each Parliament. ¹ The committee has 11 members, including the Deputy Speaker, the Chief Government Whip, the Chief Opposition Whip, the Third Party Whip, four government Members, and three opposition or other non-government Members. The quorum is five.

Private Members’ business to be accorded priority on private Members’ Mondays, the order of consideration and the times allotted for debate ² on each item are determined by the Selection Committee in accordance with general principles adopted by the House. The committee reports its determinations to the House in time for its decisions to be published on the Notice Paper of the sitting Thursday before the Monday being considered. Such reports of the committee are treated as adopted when presented, and they are printed in Hansard. ³

The Selection Committee must give notices by private Members of their intention to present bills priority over other notices and orders of the day. ⁴

In its selection and programming of private Members’ business the Selection Committee is guided by general principles adopted by the House (after report by the committee). ⁵ These provide that:

1. In formulating the priority to be given to items of private Members’ business the Selection Committee shall have regard to:

(a) the importance of the subject;

(b) the current level of interest in the subject;

(c) the extent of the current discussion on the subject both in the Parliament and elsewhere;

(d) the extent to which the subject comes within the responsibility of the Commonwealth Parliament;

(e) the probability of the subject being brought before the House by other means within a reasonable time; and

(f) whether the subject is the same, or substantially the same, as another item of business which has been debated or on which the House has already made a decision in the same period of sittings and, if so, whether new circumstances exist.

2. The Committee shall accord priority to private Members’ business:

(a) with regard to the numbers of Members affiliated with each party in the House;

(b) in a way which ensures that a particular Member or the Members who comprise the Opposition Executive do not predominate as the movers of the items selected; and

(c) in a way which seeks to ensure balance is achieved over each period of sittings.

3. When a private Member has the responsibility for the carriage of a bill transmitted from the Senate for concurrence, the bill shall be accorded priority following the question for the second reading being put to the House in the same way as a private Member’s bill originating in the House is accorded priority by standing order 41.

4. Priority shall not be accorded to any item of private Members’ business if the matter should be dealt with by the House in another, more appropriate, form of proceeding.

5. The general principles set out above shall be observed by the Selection Committee but nothing in the general principles shall be taken to prevent the Selection Committee departing from those general principles in order to meet circumstances, which, in its opinion, are unusual or special.

6. These general principles shall continue in effect until altered by the House following a report from this or a future Selection Committee. ⁶

On the first sitting Monday in a Parliament if the Selection Committee has not been formed special arrangements may be made. ⁷

S.O. 222.

The actual number of speakers on each item is not set by the committee. Members may agree to vary the number of speakers anticipated by the committee but must remain within the total time allocated.

S.O. 222.

S.O. 41(c).

S.O. 222(c).

VP 2004-05/50-51.

E.g. VP 2002-04/26-27; VP 2004-05/31.