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Title

Ch6 The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers / POWERS, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES / Procedural / Discretionary powers

Database

House Practice

Date

01-05-2005

Source

House of Reps

Parl No.

41

Chapter

The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers

Chapter No.

Chapter 06

Page

174

Section No.

 

System Id

procedural/practcer/chapter06.12.doc


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Ch6 The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers / POWERS, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES / Procedural / Discretionary powers



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House of Representatives                                Ch 6                                                 p 174

 

The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers / POWERS, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES / Procedural

 

Discretionary powers

The Speaker’s powers are augmented by a number of discretionary powers, which include: 1

  • determining which is the most urgent and important matter of public importance, if more than one is proposed (S.O. 46);

  • determining whether a prima facie case of breach of privilege has been made out (S.O. 51(d));

  • referring a matter to the Committee of Privileges, having determined that a prima facie case has been made out and that urgent action is required, when the House is not expected to meet within two weeks (actions which are subject to subsequent decisions by the House) (S.O. 52);

  • determining, when there is a need for a quorum to be formed, a time he or she will resume the Chair (S.O. 57);

  • allocating the call to the Member who in his or her opinion first rose in his or her place (S.O. 65(c));

  • determining if a Member’s arguments are irrelevant or tediously repetitive (S.O. 75);

  • determining whether discussion is out of order on ground of anticipation (S.O. 77);

  • determining if a motion is an abuse of the orders and forms of the House, or is moved for the purpose of obstructing business (S.O. 78);

  • determining whether words used are offensive or disorderly (S.O. 92(b));

  • directing the wording of a question to be altered if it seems to be unbecoming or not in conformity with the standing orders (S.O. 101(a));

  • allowing a supplementary question to be asked during Question Time (S.O. 101(b));

  • determining the cut-off time for questions for the next Notice Paper (S.O. 102(c));

  • amending or dividing notices (S.O. 109);

  • disallowing any motion or amendment which he or she considers the same in substance as any question resolved in the same session (S.O. 114(b)); and

  • giving an opinion as to whether the majority of voices were ‘Aye’ or ‘No’ (S.O. 125).

    • The Speaker’s power to call the House together, or to delay its meeting, after a period of adjournment is derived from the resolution of the House agreed to prior to the adjournment of the House. 2 The motion traditionally makes provision for the Speaker to fix or to alter the date and hour of the next meeting. Standing order 30(b) also permits the Speaker, when the House is not sitting, to set an alternative day or hour for the next meeting. However, it is the invariable practice for the Speaker not to act on his or her own initiative in this respect, but to await a request from the Government. If the House has adjourned to a date and hour to be fixed, a Gazette notice is usually published when the day of meeting is determined, indicating the date and hour of meeting. 3

    If the Speaker is absent from Australia when the Government requests that the House be reconvened, and the adjournment resolution h as not empowered the Deputy Speaker to act on behalf of the Speaker, the Clerk informs the Speaker of the Government’s request and seeks concurrence. If there was not time to seek the Speaker’s concurrence, the Clerk would notify all Members and subsequently inform the Speaker of the action taken.

    Normally the House can only be adjourned by its own resolution and the motion for the adjournment can only be moved by a Minister. 4 However, the Speaker may adjourn the House on his or her own initiative if there is no quorum or no quorum can be formed, 5 if grave disorder arises in the House, 6 or under the automatic adjournment procedures. 7

    The Speaker may suspend the sitting:

    1. for a meal break or in order to obtain a quorum;
    2. in the case of grave disorder; 8

  • after election while he or she presents himself or herself to the Governor-General; 9

  • at the opening of a new Parliament, after the presentation of the Speaker to the Governor-General, until the time when the Governor-General will declare the causes of calling the Parliament together; 10

  • during the election of the Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker if there is an equality of votes in the special ballot procedures; 11

  • if requested to do so by the Leader of the House because no further business is available at that time; 12

  • if requested to do so while the House is waiting for a bill or message from the Senate (not uncommon towards the end of a sitting period); 13

  • for the formal presentation of the Address in Reply to the Governor-General’s speech; 14

  • for special ceremonial occasions; 15 or

  • on instruction by the House. 16

    • Subject to certain conditions the Speaker is authorised by resolutions of the House to permit access to evidence taken by, or documents of, committees, and resolutions of each House confer such authority on the Speaker and the President in respect of records of joint committees. 17



    All of these powers are discussed in detail elsewhere in the text.



    See also Ch. on ‘Order of business and the sitting day’.



    Gazette S8 (18.1.91).



    S.O. 32(a).



    S.O. 57.



    S.O. 95.



    S.O. 31.



    S.O. 95.



    S.O. 4(h).



    S.O. 4(i).



    S.O. 11(l).



    H.R. Deb. (17.3.31) 279-80.



    E.g. VP 1990-92/1625.



    E.g. VP 1996-98/288.



    VP 1974-75/25.



    VP 1974-75/1127.



    VP 1978-80/1539-40; VP 1983-84/988-9; VP 1985-87/667; and see Ch. on ‘Parliamentary privilege’.