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House of Representatives                                Ch 6                                                 p 176

Participation in debate

It is unusual for a Speaker to participate in a debate. Although there is no standing order which prohibits such participation and there have been instances where this has happened, such action in the modern House would be regarded as out of cha racter with the status and role of the Speaker unless the matter under debate was of a peculiarly parliamentary nature falling within the responsibilities of the Speaker.

In the past, when the consideration in detail stage of bills was taken in the committee of the whole, Speakers occasionally spoke on bills in the committee stage. On 4 June 1942 Speaker Nairn participated in debate in committee on the Australian Broadcasting Bill and moved an amendment. ¹ On 1 October 1947 Speaker Rosevear participated in debate in committee on the 1947-48 estimates. ²

Speaker Cameron took a different view of the Speaker’s entitlement to participate in debate when he stated on 4 March 1953:

As soon as a bill is put before a committee of the whole House, it is open to any honourable member, the Speaker alone excepted, in my view, to attend and put before the committee any amendment that he wishes. ³

There have been cases when the Speaker has participated in debate when the matter before the House concerned the Parliament or the Speaker’s administration. ⁴ On 29 March 1944 the Deputy Speaker ruled that Speaker Rosevear was in order in requesting the Chairman of Committees to take the Chair to enable Speaker Rosevear to address the House from the floor. The matter before the House was a motion to discharge Members from attendance on the Joint Committee on Social Security. Speaker Rosevear spoke in connection with the Speaker’s administration. In making this ruling the Deputy Speaker stated:

. . . there are precedents in this House for the Speaker taking his place on the floor when the Estimates of Parliament are before honourable members. ⁵

The Deputy Speaker also ruled that it was in order for Speaker Rosevear to address the House from the Table. ⁶

Special circumstances applied in 1987 and 1988 when Speaker Child moved, and spoke to, the second readings of the Parliamentary Privileges Bill and the Public Service (Parliamentary Departments) Bill. She had sponsored the bills jointly with the President of the Senate. The Speaker spoke from the Table of the House, on the government side. ⁷ Later Speakers have introduced bills relating to the parliamentary service, and moved and spoken (from the Chair) to the second reading. ⁸ In the case of the Parliamentary Service Bill 1999 the Speaker also moved amendments to the bill. ⁹

When the Speaker participated in debate in the former committee of the whole he was called and addressed as the ‘honourable Member for . . .’, not as ‘Mr Speaker’. ¹⁰ Following the introduction of estimates committees in 1979, the Speaker played an active part in the consideration of the estimates for the Parliament. The chairman of the 1979 estimates committee which considered the appropriation for Parliament took the view ‘that Mr Speaker represents the ministerial position for Parliament’. ¹¹ Questions by Members regarding the estimates were put to the Speaker and answered by him. He was called and addressed as ‘Mr Speaker’ in these circumstances. The Speaker has never spoken in the Main Committee.

In the House of Commons the Speaker is entitled to speak in the committee of the whole but no Speaker has exercised the right since 1870 and for all practical purposes such action may be regarded as obsolete. ¹²

The Speaker frequently makes statements to the House ¹³ and may intervene in debate in special circumstances. For example, Speaker Snedden spoke from the Chair on a condolence motion following the death of a former Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies. ¹⁴ It is usual for the Speaker to take part in valedictory remarks at the end of each year.

VP 1940-43/365; H.R. Deb. (4.6.42) 2125-6.

H.R. Deb. (1.10.47) 403.

H.R. Deb. (4.3.53) 563.

H.R. Deb. (10.10.05) 3315 (committee); H.R. Deb. (25.10.32) 1527-9 (committee); H.R. Deb. (4.11.36) 1504-6 (committee); H.R. Deb. (23.9.38) 147 (committee); H.R. Deb. (30.4.48) 1344-6 (House); H.R. Deb. (11.11.64) 2835 (House); H.R. Deb. (9.9.75) 1170-72 (committee).

H.R. Deb. (29.3.44) 2209.

VP 1943-44/119.

H.R. Deb. (19.3.87) 1154-6; H.R. Deb. (19.5.88) 2692-4.

For a full listing see table in Ch. on ‘Non-government business’.

VP 1998-2001/672-3, 898.

H.R. Deb. (14.6.45) 3116, 3119.

H.R. Est. Comm. Deb. (28.8.80) 16.

N. Wilding and P. Laundy, An encyclopaedia of Parliament , 4th edn, Cassell, London, 1972, p. 704.

E.g. H.R. Deb. (21.8.96) 3346-7; VP 1998-2001/26.

H.R. Deb. (22.5.78) 2339.