HUMAN RIGHTS—JOINT STATUTORY COMMITTEE—APPOINTMENT

A message from the House of Representatives was reported proposing the appointment of a joint committee, as follows:

 Message no. 368, dated 13 March 2012—Proposed Joint Committee on Human Rights, and transmitting for the concurrence of the Senate the following resolution:

 That in accordance with section 6 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, matters relating to the powers and proceedings of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights shall be as follows:

  (a) the committee consist of 10 members, 3 Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip, 2 Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or by any non-aligned Member, 2 Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 2 Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and 1 Senator to be nominated by any minority group or independent Senator;

  (b) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

  (c) the committee elect a Government member as its chair;

  (d) the committee elect a non-Government member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee;

  (e) at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting;

  (f) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote;

  (g) 3 members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non-Government member of either House;

  (h) the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine;

  (i) the committee appoint the chair of each subcommittee and at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting and in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair will have a casting vote;

  (j) 2 members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non-Government member of either House;

  (k) members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

  (l) the committee or any subcommittee have power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced, to move from place to place, to meet and transact business in public or private session and to conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;

  (m) a subcommittee have power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the Senate or the House of Representatives;

  (n) the committee may report from time to time; and

  (o) the committee may appoint counsel to advise the committee with the approval of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence (Senator Feeney), by leave, moved—That the Senate concurs with the resolution of the House of Representatives contained in message no. 368 relating to the appointment of a joint committee.

Question put and passed.