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House of Representatives                                Ch 17                                                 p 586

By the Speaker

The standing orders provide that documents may be presented to the House by the Speaker. ¹ The reports of those committees of which the Speaker is chair, or joint chair, are presented by the Speaker. ² The Speaker presents the reports of parliamentary delegations of which he or she is leader. ³ The Speaker also presents documents dealing with parliamentary activities, ⁴ and, pursuant to the Parliamentary Service Act, the annual reports of the Parliamentary Service Commissioner, the Department of the House of Representatives, and the Department of Parliamentary Services (the parliamentary department under the joint authority of the Speaker and the President). ⁵

The Auditor-General Act requires the Auditor-General to transmit to each House of the Parliament reports prepared under that Act. ⁶ Having furnished information to the Prime Minister in relation to an investigation, the Commonwealth Ombudsman may also forward copies of a report concerning the investigation to the President and the Speaker for presentation to Parliament. ⁷ These reports are presented to the House by the Speaker in his or her role as the representative of the House in its relations with authorities outside the Parliament. ⁸

The Speaker may also communicate to the House letters and documents addressed to the Speaker, such as replies to expressions of congratulation or condolence made by the House, ⁹ or messages of the same kind from foreign countries and other legislatures, ¹⁰ letters acknowledging a motion of thanks of the House, ¹¹ or relating to the rights and privileges of the House or its Members, such as communications notifying the House of the arrest or imprisonment of a Member. ¹² In 1988 the Acting Speaker presented a copy of a letter from a Deputy President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission seeking the appointment of a joint select committee to inquire into his situation. Another letter from the same person was presented on 28 February 1989. ¹³ The Speaker has presented a letter from a High Court Judge, and read a statement from the judge, received following criticism of the judge in Parliament. ¹⁴ In 2003 the Speaker presented a resolution of the Queensland Parliament which, in part, requested the Commonwealth Parliament to establish an inquiry. ¹⁵ A document communicated to the House by the Speaker may be read and entered in the Votes and Proceedings or simply recorded as being received. Unless presented by specific action of the Speaker, ¹⁶ documents of this kind are not regarded as having been formally presented to the House.

S.O. 199(a).

E.g. VP 1993-95/965.

E.g. VP 1993-95/1613; VP 1998-2001/1115.

See for example, History of Hansard , VP 1970-72/1236; Radio broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings—papers , VP 1993-95/1327; VP 1996-98/95, 160.

Parliamentary Service Act 1999 , ss. 42, 65. Note that a report or other document presented by both Presiding Officers may be presented to the two Houses on different days.

Auditor-General Act 1997 , ss. 15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 28.

Ombudsman Act 1976 , s.17; VP 1985-87/392.

See Ch. on ‘The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and officers’.

E.g. VP 1978-80/981; VP 2002-04/1061-2.

VP 1978-80/930, 977; VP 1996-98/366-9; VP 2002-04/1318.

VP 1932-34/583.

VP 1970-72/517; VP 1990-92/1633 (letter of apology).

VP 1987-89/811, 1025.

VP 2002-04/122-2.

In response to a question the Speaker later indicated that he intended to take no action on the matter unless instructed by the House. H.R. Deb. (25.11.2003) 22719-20; (2.12.03) 23432.

VP 1967-68/10.