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Title

Ch14 Control and conduct of debate / MANNER AND RIGHT OF SPEECH / Allocation of the call

Database

House Practice

Date

01-05-2005

Source

House of Reps

Parl No.

41

Chapter

Control and conduct of debate

Chapter No.

Chapter 14

Page

487

Section No.

 

System Id

procedural/practcer/chapter14.12.doc


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Ch14 Control and conduct of debate / MANNER AND RIGHT OF SPEECH / Allocation of the call



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House of Representatives                                Ch 14                                                 p 487

 

Control and conduct of debate / MANNER AND RIGHT OF SPEECH

 

Allocation of the call

The Member who moved the motion for the adjournment of a debate is entitled to speak first on the resumption of the debate. 1 If the Member does not take up that entitlement on the resumption of the debate, this does not impair his or her right to speak later in the debate. 2 However, when a Member is granted leave to continue his or her remarks and the debate is then adjourned, the Member must take the entitlement to pre-audience on the resumption of the debate, otherwise he or she loses the right to continue.

Although the Chair is not obliged to call any particular Member, except for a Member entitled to the first call as indicated above, it is the practice for the Chair, as a matter of courtesy, to give priority to:

  • the Prime Minister or a Minister over other government Members 3 but not if he or she proposes to speak in reply; 4 and

  • the leader or deputy leader of opposition parties over other non-government Members. 5

    • A Minister (or Parliamentary Secretary) in charge of business during the consideration in detail of a bill or consideration of Senate amendments (when any Member may speak as many times as he or she wishes) would usually receive priority over other government Members whenever wishing to speak. 6 This enables the Minister to explain or comment upon details of the legislation as they arise from time to time in the debate. Speakers have also taken the view that in respect of business such as consideration of Senate messages, the call should, in the first instance, be given to the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary expected to have responsibility for the matter. 7

    If two or more Members rise to speak, the Speaker calls on the Member who, in the Speaker’s opinion, rose first. 8 The Chair’s selection may be challenged by a motion that a Member who was not called ‘be heard now’, and the question must be put immediately and resolved without amendment or debate. 9 A Member may move either of these motions in respect of himself or herself. 10 It is not in order to challenge the Chair’s decision by way of moving that the Member who received the call ‘be no longer heard’. 11 A motion of dissent from the Chair’s allocation of the call should not be accepted, as the Chair is exercising a discretion, not making a ruling.

    Standing order 78 provides, among other things, that if a motion that a Member be heard now is negatived, no similar proposal shall be received if the Chair is of the opinion that it is an abuse of the orders or forms of the House or is moved for the purpose of obstructing business. 12

    Although the allocation of the call is a matter for the discretion of the Chair, it is usual, as a principle, to call Members from each side of the House, government and non-government, alternately. Within this principle minor parties and any independents are given reasonable opportunities to express their views. 13 Because of coalition arrangements between the Liberal and National Parties, the allocation of the call between them has varied—for example, in the 30th Parliament, with the respective party numbers 68 and 23, the call was allocated on the basis of a 3:1 ratio; in the 38th Parliament, with the party numbers 76 and 18, the ratio was 4:1; and in the 41st Parliament, with the party numbers 75 and 12, the ratio was 6:1. Independent Members have been called with regard to their numbers as a proportion of the House.



    S.O. 79(b)



    H.R. Deb. (19.8.54) 446.



    H.R. Deb. (26.2.53) 415.



    H.R. Deb. (21.8.23) 3133.



    H.R. Deb. (8.3.32) 775-6.



    VP 1951-53/703; H.R. Deb. (6.10.53) 1031; H.R. Deb. (25.11.53) 500-1; H.R. Deb. (22.9.55) 883.



    Including cases when the Government indicates (for example, by a Minister seeking the call) that it wishes to take a private Senator’s bill as government business, e.g. H.R. Deb. (15.3.2000) 14781.



    The Speaker calls Members by the name of their electoral division or office, i.e. ‘the Member (Minister) for . . .’.



    S.O. 65(c).



    VP 1959-60/138; VP 1996-98/410, 419, 461.



    H.R. Deb. (25.11.53) 500-1.



    VP 1996-98/462-3, the Chair having ruled that a further motion under then S.O. 61 [now 65(c)] was out of order as an abuse of the forms of the House, a motion of dissent was moved. And see H.R. Deb. (12.9.96) 3995-9.



    H.R. Deb. (17.6.31) 2744; H.R. Deb. (19.5.33) 1598-9; H.R. Deb. (18.10.77) 2103.