sign in sign up
<<
Home , Abbott Ministry, Arthur Sinodinos, Don Randall, Double dissolution, Luke Simpkins, Mal Brough

RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2016–17 DATE 24 NOVEMBER 2016 44th Parliament in review

Politics and Public Administration Section

Contents

Acknowledgements ...... 3 Abbreviations ...... 3 Introduction ...... 4 Background ...... 4 Chronology of events and developments ...... 5 2014 ...... 5 2015 ...... 5 2016 ...... 6 The path to the double dissolution election ...... 7 Prorogation and recall of Parliament ...... 8 The Budget and the double dissolution...... 9 The ...... 9 Elections ...... 9 Acknowledgement of country ...... 10 Procedural and other developments relating to the Speakership ...... 10 Amendment to Standing Order 68—power of the Speaker to intervene ...... 10 Security identification requirements for visitors wearing coverings ...... 10 motions ...... 11 Resignation of Speaker Bishop ...... 11 ...... 11 House of Representatives ...... 11 Senate ...... 12 Suspensions ...... 12 House of Representatives ...... 12 Divisions ...... 13 House of Representatives ...... 13 Senate ...... 14

ISSN 2203-5249 Legislation ...... 15 Volume of legislation ...... 15 House of Representatives—bills discharged and private members’ bills ...... 16 Senate—bills discharged, private senators’ bills and double dissolution triggers ...... 16 Crossbench...... 16 House of Representatives ...... 17 Senate ...... 17 ...... 18 House of Representatives ...... 18 Selection ...... 19 Senate ...... 19 Estimates committees ...... 21 Composition of the 44th Parliament by party and gender ...... 21 Ministry ...... 22 By-elections and casual vacancies ...... 23 House of Representatives ...... 23 Senate ...... 24 Addresses to the Parliament ...... 25 Ministerial statements ...... 25 House of Representatives ...... 25 Senate ...... 26 Petitions ...... 26 Other procedural changes ...... 27 Use of electronic devices ...... 27 Children in the House of Representatives Chamber ...... 27 Appendix 1: Private members’ bills introduced in the House of Representatives ...... 28 Appendix 2: Private senators’ bills introduced in the Senate ...... 30 Appendix 3: Double dissolution triggers and the Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament and related correspondence ...... 34 Appendix 4: Conscience votes in the 44th Parliament ...... 47 Appendix 5: crossings in the 44th Parliament ...... 48 Appendix 6: Further ...... 49 Parliamentary Library publications...... 49 Research papers ...... 49 FlagPosts ...... 49 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure reports ...... 49 Senate Procedural Information Bulletins and Standing Committee on Procedure reports ...... 50

44th Parliament in review 2 Acknowledgements The Politics and Public Administration section would like to thank Tim Bryant and Annemieke Jongsma, Senate Procedure Office; the staff of the Senate Table Office; James Rees, House of Representatives Chamber Research Office; and Leo Terpstra for their invaluable assistance in the preparation of this Research Paper.

Abbreviations ALP AMEP Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party CLP Country () DLP Democratic Labour Party FFP GRN IND Independent KAP Katter’s Australian Party LDP Liberal Democratic Party LIB Liberal Party of LNP Liberal National party NP The Nationals PUP Palmer United Party

44th Parliament in review 3

Introduction In 2013 Australia returned to government when the Abbott Government was elected with 90 out of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, minor and micro parties and Independents held the balance of power. The 44th Parliament was very different to the preceding Parliament but in many ways no less dramatic. A Senate Procedural Information Bulletin noted at the end of the 44th Parliament: First, the prorogation for a new session of Parliament opened on 18 April 2016; now the simultaneous dissolution of both Houses under section 57 of the Constitution, which took effect at 9 am on 9 May, the anniversary of the opening of the first Federal Parliament in 1901 (as well as of the provisional and new parliamentary buildings in 1927 and 1988). Both procedures have now been invoked for the first time in some decades, signalling that the end of the 44th Parliament has been an unusual one.1

This paper reviews the major parliamentary and political events of the 44th Parliament. The paper is not an exhaustive chronicle of the 44th Parliament but a review of the major aspects of the workings of this Parliament. It is organised thematically covering, where relevant, procedural changes, statistical information, and events of note and interest in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is intended to be used as a companion to the Parliamentary Library paper on the 43rd (Hung) Parliament and the forthcoming research paper on the 2016 federal election.2 Background The 44th Parliament was notable for a number of upheavals in party leadership and party composition, notably the deposing of a first term Prime Minister.3 As the Parliament progressed, the Senate’s role in scrutinising and deliberating on the Government’s legislative became even more crucial. The following provides a chronology of the 44th Parliament, sets out some of the key party changes and some of the critical steps leading to the simultaneous dissolution (or double dissolution) of both Houses on 9 May 2016. The 43rd Parliament came to a close on 5 August 2013 when the House of Representatives was dissolved. The federal election was held on 27 August 2013. The Coalition, led by MP (LIB, Warringah, NSW) had a decisive win in the House of Representatives with the Coalition winning 90 seats, the ALP 55 seats, with the remainder going to small parties (three seats) and Independents (two seats).4 The election in the Senate resulted in the Coalition having 33 seats, Labor 26, and a large crossbench of nine Greens, three Palmer United Party (PUP), one Independent, one Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), one Family First Party (FFP), one Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and one Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AMEP). While a recount was progressing on close WA Senate seats it was discovered that 1,370 ballots were missing. Without these ballots Labor and PUP each lost a seat and the Greens and Sport’s Party each won a seat. The election results for the six Western seats were voided by the High Court sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns on 20 February 2014.5 Following a half-Senate election for the WA Senate seats held on 5 April 2014 the Senate composition after 1 July 2014 comprised: Coalition 33 seats, ALP 25 seats, Greens 10 seats, PUP three seats, LDP one seat, FFP one seat, AMEP one seat, DLP one seat and one Independent. Mr Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister on 18 September 2013. Prime Minister Abbott announced his ministry on 16 September 2013, with only one woman in the Cabinet, Minister for Foreign Affairs, MP (LIB, Curtin, WA).6 The 44th Parliament commenced on 12 November 2013. On 13 November 2013 the Leader of the House, MP (LIB, Sturt, SA) introduced amendments to Standing and Sessional Orders that govern the conduct of House business. Details of these changes are provided below.

1. Department of the Senate, Procedural Information Bulletin, No. 305, 9 May 2016. Please note: all references have been accessed between 1– 30 October 2016 unless otherwise specified. 2. Politics and Public Administration Section, The hung parliament: procedural changes in the House of Representatives, Research paper, 2013– 14, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 22 November 2013. 3. , also a first term Prime Minister, was deposed in the 42nd Parliament. 4. B Holmes, Federal Election 2013: issues, dynamics, outcomes, Research paper series 2013–14, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 22 January 2014. 5. R Lundie, The disputed 2013 WA Senate election, Flagpost, Parliamentary Library blog, 20 November 2013; Australian Electoral Commission, 2014 WA Senate election, AEC website. 6. T Abbott (Leader of the Federal Coalition), A team to build a stronger Australia, media release, 16 September 2016.

44th Parliament in review 4

Chronology of events and developments 2014 Senator (LIB, NSW) stood aside from his position as Assistant Treasurer on 19 March 2014 as he had been called as a witness before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as part of an ongoing investigation.7 Senator Sinodinos appeared at ICAC in his capacity as a former Director of Australian Water Holdings and treasurer of the NSW Liberal Party. Senator Sinodinos resigned from the on 19 December 2014.8 On 13 May 2014 the Coalition government handed down its first Budget. The Budget sparked a vigorous public debate about the need for change, the distributional effects of the Budget proposals, and the appropriateness of individual measures. The Budget was criticised as unfairly targeting lower income earners with measures including changes to Newstart, Disability Support Pension and Youth Allowance, the freezing of family payments for two years, the $7 co-payment for doctor’s visits and other services, the fuel excise, and the increasing costs of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines.9 Legislation implementing a number of the measures was subsequently blocked in the Senate. The new Senate was sworn in on 7 July 2014 by the Governor-General. The Senate had the largest crossbench in its history with 17 senators representing minor or micro-parties and one independent. The Government required the support of six of the crossbenchers to pass its legislation. On 4 September 2014 Democratic Labour Party (DLP) senator for , John Madigan, announced his resignation from the DLP and that he would sit as an Independent senator.10 On 24 November 2014 PUP senator for Tasmania, , announced she had resigned from the PUP to sit as an Independent.11 On 21 December 2014 Prime Minister Abbott announced changes to his ministry with effect from 23 December.12 A second woman was promoted to Cabinet, Minister for Health MP (LIB, Farrer, NSW). 2015 On 9 February 2015, following party unrest over declining polls, the federal Parliamentary Liberal Party met to consider a motion to spill the leadership of the party. The motion, moved by MP (LIB, Cowan, WA) and seconded by MP (LIB, Canning, WA), was defeated 69 to 39, with one member (Ross Vasta (LIB, Bonner, Qld) on paternity leave and one member casting an informal vote.13 On 16 March 2015 PUP senator for , Glenn Lazarus, announced he had resigned from the PUP on 12 March and would sit as an Independent.14On 4 February 2016 Senator Lazarus informed the Senate of his appointment as the leader of the Glenn Lazarus Team.15 On the morning of 6 May 2015 the leader of the Australian Greens (GRN), Senator Christine Milne (Tas.), announced her resignation as leader of the party. The new leader, Senator Richard Di Natale (Vic.), was elected at a party room meeting the same morning. The party also chose two co-deputy leaders, senators Larissa Waters (Qld) and Scott Ludlum (WA). On 21 July the Government and Parliament were shocked by the death of Don Randall (LIB, Canning, WA). The Parliament paid tribute to Mr Randall in a condolence motion on 11 August 2015.16 A by-election was held for the seat on 19 September 2015 (see Table 7 below).

7. Senator A Sinodinos, ‘Matters of Public Interest: Australian Water Holdings’, Senate, Debates, 19 March 2014. 8. T Abbott (Prime Minister), Resignation of Senator Arthur Sinodinos, media release, 19 December 2014. 9. See criticisms noted in Budget review 2014–15, Research paper series, 2014–15, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014. See also S Kelly, Budget 2014: Opinion: Failure of imagination, The Saturday Paper, 31 May 2014. 10. Australia, Senate, Senator Madigan—Resignation from Democratic Labour Party—Statement by Leave, Journals, SJ 52, 4 September 2014. 11. Australia, Senate, Senator Lambie—Resignation from Palmer United Party—Statement by Leave, Journals, SJ 67, 24 November 2014. 12. T Abbott (Prime Minister), Changes to the ministry, media release, 21 December 2014. 13. Tony Abbott holds on to leadership 61 votes to 39 but some say the PM can't recover, Radio National, 9 February 2015. 14. Australia, Senate, Senator Lazarus—Resignation from Palmer United Party—Statement by Leave, Journals, SJ 83, 16 March 2015. 15. Australia, Senate, Leader of the Glenn Lazarus Team, Journals, SJ 137, 4 February 2016. 16. Australia, House of Representatives, ‘Death of Donald James Randall–Motion of condolence’, Votes and Proceedings, HVP 132, 11 August 2015.

44th Parliament in review 5

On 2 August 2015 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, MP (LIB, Mackellar, NSW), resigned her position following controversy over her use of travel entitlements.17 Tony Smith MP (LIB, Casey, Vic.) became Speaker on 10 August 2015 (see Speaker section below for further detail). 18 On 14 September 2015 the Minister for Communications, MP (LIB, Wentworth, NSW), challenged Prime Minister Abbott’s leadership of the federal Parliamentary Liberal Party. Mr Turnbull stated that Mr Abbott had failed to provide economic leadership, pointed out that the party had lost 30 Newspolls in a row, and called for the restoration of traditional Cabinet government.19 Mr Turnbull won the ballot for the position of leader 54 to 44, and Julie Bishop won the deputy leader position over Kevin Andrews MP (LIB, Menzies, Vic.) 70 to 30.20 Ms Bishop has held the position of deputy leader of the federal Parliamentary Liberal Party since November 2007. On Tuesday 15 September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in as Australia’s 29th Prime Minister. On the same day a new Coalition agreement was agreed between Mr Turnbull and Mr Truss MP (NP, Wide Bay, Qld), leader of the Nationals.21 Mr Turnbull announced his first ministry of 42 on 20 September 2015, with the members being sworn in on 21 September 2015. Some of the key changes included the appointment of MP (LIB, Cook, NSW) as Treasurer, replacing MP (LIB, North Sydney, NSW) who later resigned from Parliament on 23 October. Senator (LIB, NSW) was appointed Minister for Defence, becoming the first female in that role. In total five women were appointed to the Cabinet. Senator Sinodinos was appointed Cabinet Secretary.22 Further changes to the ministry were announced on 30 September including MP (LIB, Hasluck, WA) as the Assistant Minister for Health, becoming the first indigenous member of the Federal Executive Council.23 2016 The was subject to a number of resignations and retirements that culminated in a ministerial reshuffle in February 2016. On 29 December 2015 Mr Turnbull announced the resignation of MP (LIB, Mayo, SA) and the standing aside of MP (LIB, Fisher, Qld).24 Mr Briggs resigned as the Minister for Cities and the Built Environment after ‘inappropriate’ conduct towards a diplomatic officer during an official visit to Hong Kong, and Mr Brough stood aside as Special Minister of State pending a police investigation into his alleged role in the downfall of former Speaker .25 In February 2016 Mr Brough informed the Prime Minister he did not wish to be considered for a ministerial position and on 26 February announced his intention not to contest the next election.26 In early February 2016 the ‘Father of the House’ MP (LIB, Berowra, NSW) announced, after almost 43 years in the Federal Parliament, that he would not be contesting the next election.27 He was

17. T Abbott (Prime Minister), Transcript of press conference: Sydney: 2 August 2015: Speaker; Reform of parliamentary entitlements, media release, 2 August 2015. 18. ‘Parliamentary office holders: Speaker’, House of Representatives, Debates, 10 August 2015. 19. M Turnbull, Transcript of press conference: Parliament House, Canberra: 14 September 2015: Liberal Party leadership, media release, 14 September 2015. 20. M Turnbull and J Bishop, Transcript of joint press conference: Parliament House, Canberra: 14 September 2015: Liberal Party leadership, media release, 14 September 2016. 21. W Truss (Leader of the Nationals, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development), New Liberal leader - new Coalition agreement, media release, 15 September 2015 22. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Transcript of doorstop interview: Canberra: 20 September 2015: new Ministry, media release, 20 September 2015. 23. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Changes to the Ministry, media release, 30 September 2015. 24. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Ministerial arrangements - The Hon Jamie Briggs MP, media release, 29 December 2015; M Briggs (Minister for Cities and the Built Environment), Resignation as Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, media release, 29 December 2015. 25. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Ministerial arrangements, media release, 29 December 2015. 26. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Press conference on new ministry, Sydney, media release, 13 February 2016; M Brough, Announcement: Federal Member for Fisher, media release, 26 February 2016. 27. P Ruddock, Statement by the Hon. Philip Ruddock MP, media release, 8 February 2016.

44th Parliament in review 6

appointed the first Special Envoy for Human Rights.28 On 10 February 2016 the Minister for Trade, MP (LIB, Goldstein, Vic.), announced he would retire at the next election and stood down from the ministry.29 On 11 February 2016 Warren Truss announced he was stepping down from leadership of the Nationals.30 At a party room meeting on the same day MP (NP, New England, NSW) was chosen leader unopposed while Senator (NP, NSW) defeated six opponents to become the first female deputy leader of the Nationals. The change resulted in a new coalition agreement between the Liberal Party and the Nationals and an additional place in the Cabinet for the Nationals in the subsequent reshuffle.31 Further uncertainty for the ministry resulted from questions about the future of the human services and veterans’ affairs minister, MP (LIB, Fadden, Qld), over a ‘private’ 2014 trip to China, when he was assistant defence minister, to witness a mining deal and meet with a Chinese vice minister. On 12 February 2016 the Prime Minister announced that Mr Robert had asked not to be considered for a position in the ministerial reshuffle.32 Mr Turnbull announced his second ministry on 13 February 2016.33 The ministry was sworn in on 18 February. The number of women in Cabinet was boosted to six, while the total in the executive rose to 10. Mr Turnbull announced that Mr Robb was to become the Special Envoy for Trade from 13 February until the election. The path to the double dissolution election From the beginning of the Turnbull government the prospects of a double dissolution (DD) had been widely reported, as there were two existing ‘triggers’ in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014. The Senate had also rejected a number of other Bills, including the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2013 by which the Government aimed to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). The Government saw the ABCC and related legislation as crucial to the transition to the new economy. The Bills had been negatived by the Senate on 17 August 2015 and were negatived again on the 18 April 2016 (See Legislation section below). The Senate also had lengthy debate, 39 hours, on the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 to allow optional preferential voting for the Senate.34 The Government saw it as a priority to change the Senate voting system in order to remove ‘the practice of group voting tickets, of backroom deals, of elaborate creation of micro parties [that] has resulted in people being elected to the Senate with a tiny fraction of primary votes.’35 This measure had been a recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters inquiry into the 2013 election.36 The Bill passed on 18 March 2016 with the Government and the Greens supporting the legislation.37 Before the final debate on the electoral legislation, in a tactical move, the crossbenchers attempted to introduce motions bringing on the debate on the ABCC but the Government voted against the measure honouring the agreement made with the Greens in return for their support.38 A subsequent challenge to the validity of the Senate electoral laws brought by Senator (FFP, SA) and others was dismissed by the High Court on 13 May 2016.39

28. J Bishop (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Special Envoy for Human Rights, media release, 8 February 2016. 29. A Robb, (Minister for Trade), Statement [re: retirement from politics], media release, 10 February 2016. 30. W Truss (Deputy Prime Minister), Address to the House, Canberra, media release, 11 February 2016. 31. M Kenny, ‘Turnbull clears the decks’, Age, 13 February 2016. 32. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Statement by the Prime Minister, media release, 12 February 2016. 33. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Press Conference on new ministry, Sydney, media release, 13 February 2016. 34. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘Bills generating lengthy debate’. 35. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Speech to Parliament: Senate voting reform, media release, 18 March 2016. 36. Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, Interim Report of the inquiry into the conduct of the 2013 Federal election: Senate voting practices, The Committee, May 2014, p.xvII. 37. R Di Natale, Voters will decide next election result, media release, 18 March 2016. 38. R Muir, ‘Motion: days and hours of meeting’, Senate, Debates, 16 March 2016; M Fifield, Transcript of interview with Barrie Cassidy: ABC Insiders: 6 March 2016: Party Room; Tony Abbott; Malcolm Turnbull; media reform; ABC; ABCC, media release, 6 March 2016. 39. Day v Australian Electoral Officer for the State of ; Madden v Australian Electoral Officer for the State of Tasmania [2016] HCA 20, 13 May 2016.

44th Parliament in review 7

When the motion for the next meeting of the Senate was moved on 17 March 2016, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate moved an amendment to provide that the discretion of the President to determine the next sitting could not be exercised without the concurrence of an absolute majority of senators.40 The amended motion was passed 31–22.41 The Senate rose on 17 March 2016 with the understanding that it would not sit until 10 May, the day set down for the Budget. Prorogation and recall of Parliament On 21 March 2016, in an unusual move, the Prime Minister requested the Governor-General, acting under section 5 of the Constitution, to prorogue Parliament on Friday 15 April and summon Parliament to sit again on Monday 18 April 2016.42 Proroguing a Parliament essentially terminates the current session of Parliament. Unlike dissolving a Parliament it does not necessarily lead to an election; after prorogation, a Parliament can be recalled to sit again. The last time Parliament was prorogued and then recalled before an election was the Thirtieth Parliament in 1977, to allow the Queen to open Parliament.43 An effect of prorogation is that all business before both Houses lapses. However, both Houses have provisions to later restore to the Notice Paper and resume consideration of bills that have lapsed due to prorogation. When a bill is in possession of the House in which it did not originate, that House may not resume consideration of the Bill unless it has received a message from the other House requesting it to do so. The recall of Parliament was to provide the Senate with an additional three sitting weeks to consider the ABCC and Registered Organisations legislation. The Prime Minister announced that if the Senate failed to pass the laws he would advise the Governor-General to invoke the provisions of section 57 of the Constitution to dissolve both Houses of Parliament and issue writs for an election.44 The Government also announced that the Budget was moved forward a week from 10 May to 3 May 2016 to allow for a possible DD election being called on or before 11 May.45 Supply Bills would therefore be introduced by the Government, ‘to ensure the continuity of the normal business of government in the context of a double dissolution election’.46 A Supply Bill generally provides for interim appropriations out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to fund the core activities of the government until the passage of the annual Appropriation Bills.47 The House of Representatives met on 18 and 19 April 2016. Following the truncated formalities of the opening of the Parliament by the Governor-General on 18 April the Government moved a motion to request the Senate to resume consideration of the ABCC legislation.48 On 18 April, the first day of the three week special sitting, following the opening of the new session of the Parliament, the Senate received the message from the House of Representatives requesting the Senate to resume consideration of the ABCC bills. The Senate complied with the request and again defeated the legislation to establish the ABCC, 36 to 34 votes.49 This action set in motion the process for a DD election. The Senate also agreed to a Labor motion for the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee to inquire and report by 4 May 2016—the day after the federal budget—into associated entities of political parties, with particular reference to the adequacy of the funding and disclosure regime relating to

40. P Wong, ’’, Senate, Debates, 17 March 2016. 41. Australia, Senate, Journals, 148, 17 March 2016. 42. M Turnbull, Letters re: prorogue of Parliament, media release, 21 March 2016; M Turnbull, Transcript of press conference: Parliament House, Canberra: 21 March 2016: return of both houses of Parliament on April 18; Federal Budget on 3 May 2016; ABCC and Registered Organisations bills; possible double dissolution election, media release, 21 March 2016. 43. Prorogation and a new session of Parliament, Occasional note, Senate Procedural Bulletin no 303, 23 March 2016; D Muller, So you've been prorogued - common questions answered, Flagpost, Parliamentary Library blog, 23 March 2016. 44. M Turnbull, Letters re: prorogue of Parliament, op.cit. 45. For an explanation of the timing of a DD election see R Lundie, Australian elections timetable as at 7 April 2014, Research paper series, 2013– 14, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014. 46. M Cormann, ‘Supply bills to keep government running’, 9News.com, 28 April 2016. 47. D Weight and P Pyburne, Supply Bill (No.1) 2016-17 [and] Supply Bill (No. 2) 2016-17 [and] Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2016-17, Bills Digest, 115, 2015–16, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 3 May 2016. 48. C Pyne, ‘Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2], Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No. 2]’, House of Representatives, Debates, 18 April 2016. 49. Australia, Senate, Journals, 149, 18 April 2016.

44th Parliament in review 8

annual returns, and ‘(that) Senator Sinodinos appear before the committee to answer questions’.50 Senator Sinodinos declined to appear before the Committee and the matter was referred to the Privileges Committee.51 The Senate also agreed to an Opposition motion to provide for two days of Budget estimates hearings on 5 and 6 May 2016, with committees to report by 11 May.52 The Senate adjourned on 19 April 2016. The Budget and the double dissolution The Parliament resumed on 2 May 2016. The Supply Bill (no 1) 2016–17, Supply Bill (no.2) 2016–17 and Supply (Parliamentary Departments) (no.1) Bill 2016–17 were introduced to the Parliament on 2 May 2016 and passed by both Houses by 3 May, receiving assent on 4 May 2016. The bills provided for expenditure for approximately the first five months of the new financial year (less the impact of any approved new policy expenditure) as an interim measure to enable the public (and parliamentary) service to continue during the election period. As part of the Government’s Budget handed down on 3 May 2016 the Appropriation Bills were introduced but lapsed with the dissolution of the Parliament.53 The House adjourned on 5 May 2016, following the Opposition leader’s Budget-in-reply speech. The Senate had adjourned on 4 May prior to holding two days of Estimates hearings. On 8 May 2016 the Prime Minister announced the Governor-General had accepted his request under section 57 of the Constitution to dissolve both houses of Parliament effective 9 May 2016, and to call a DD election for both Houses on 2 July 2016.54 The Speaker Two Speakers of the House of Representatives served in the 44th Parliament: Bronwyn Bishop MP and Tony Smith MP. Elections On the first day of the 44th Parliament (12 November 2013), the House of Representatives elected Bronwyn Bishop MP as its 31st Speaker.55 The election for the Speakership was contested, with the Opposition nominating Robert Mitchell MP (ALP, McEwen, Vic.) for the office; a ballot was held, with a result of 93 to 56 in favour of Mrs Bishop.56 Mrs Bishop stated that as Speaker she would continue to attend Liberal Party room meetings, but not meetings relating to tactics.57 The Deputy Speakership was also contested, with the Government nominating Bruce Scott MP (NP, Maranoa, Vic.) for the office and the Opposition nominating Mr Mitchell. The resulting ballot saw Mr Scott elected as Deputy Speaker by 91 votes to 56 and Mr Mitchell elected as Second Deputy Speaker.58 Following Speaker Bishop’s resignation from the position of Speaker, on 2 August 2015 (see further below), Tony Smith MP was elected unopposed as the 32nd Speaker of the House of Representatives on 10 August 2015. He remained in the office until the dissolution of the Parliament on 9 May 2016.59 Following his election as Speaker Mr Smith stated that he would not attend weekly Liberal Party room meetings, and also indicated that he would institute periodic discussions with the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition Business, and independent members to ‘discuss the operation of parliament’.60 The Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker positions remained unchanged.

50. Australia, Senate, Journals, 150, 2015–16, 19 April 2016. 51. J McAllister, ’Privileges Committee Reference’, Senate, Debates, 4 May 2016. 52. Australia, Senate, ‘Legislation Committees—Estimates Hearings—Days of Meeting—Variation’, Journals, 150, 19 April 2016. 53. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, HVP 4, 3 May 2016. 54. M Turnbull (Prime Minister), Transcript of press conference: Canberra, ACT: 8 May 2016: election 2016 our economic plan, media release, 8 May 2016; Prime Minister's advice regarding a double dissolution election, media release, 8 May 2016. 55. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 1, 2013, 12 November 2013, pp. 6–7. 56. Ibid. 57. B Bishop, ‘Parliamentary Office Holders: Speaker’, House of Representatives, Debates, 12 November 2014, p. 11; E Hall, ‘Newly-elected Madam Speaker Bishop vows change’, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), 12 November 2013. 58. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 1, 2013, op. cit., p. 10. 59. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 131, 2013–2015, 10 August 2015, p. 1,471. 60. T Smith, ‘Parliamentary Office Holders: Speaker’, House of Representatives, Debates, 10 August 2015, p. 7,747.

44th Parliament in review 9

Acknowledgement of country The acknowledgement of country in the Order of Business for the House, introduced in the 43rd Parliament, was retained in the 44th Parliament,61 with Speaker Bishop making the first acknowledgement of country on the second day of sitting (13 November 2013).62 Procedural and other developments relating to the Speakership Amendment to Standing Order 68—power of the Speaker to intervene Among the Government’s proposed amendments to the Standing Orders (SOs) on 13 November 2013 was a change to SO 68 empowering the Speaker to ‘intervene’ if a member repeated a matter previously the subject of a personal explanation given by another member to correct a misrepresentation.63 In moving the amendments the Leader of the House, Christopher Pyne stated that: Members on both sides of the House will be very familiar with the practice of making an outrageous statement about another member of the House … Time and time again, members had to rise to the dispatch box to correct such misrepresentations when they knew the person making it knew it was a misrepresentation. I think all sides of the House are thoroughly sick of that pantomime and we intend to eliminate it. The Speaker will be able to decide that, if a misrepresentation has already been corrected, the continued making of that misrepresentation is disorderly. I think that will improve the atmosphere of the chamber.64

The Opposition objected to this proposed change, stating that it constituted: increas[ing] the powers of the Speaker beyond what they have ever been in the history of this House so as to allow the Speaker of the parliament to apply censorship to political views—to provide censorship to one half of the political debate ... [the government] is turning the role of the Speaker from that of an arbiter and adjudicator to that of a censorship board.65

The change to SO 68 (along with the other government amendments to the Standing Orders) was agreed to by the House after a division on 13 November 2013.66 Security identification requirements for visitors wearing coverings On 2 October 2014 Speaker Bishop and the President of the Senate (Senator Stephen Parry, LIB, Tas.) introduced interim security measures including requiring those ‘entering the building covering themselves in such a way they cannot be clearly identified’ to ‘produce identification that matches their identity’.67 It was also stated that the measures were pending ‘further advice from specialist agencies’.68 In October the Speaker stated that the Presiding Officers had received advice relating to ‘an action planned that would have disrupted the business of the House’,69 with the President of the Senate also stating that, on 2 October 2014: I was advised that a group of people, some being male, were going to disrupt question time in the House of Representatives. The advice further indicated that this group would be wearing garments that would prevent recognition of their facial features and possibly their gender.70

On 19 October 2014 the Presiding Officers replaced these measures with new interim measures involving the facial identification of visitors upon entry to Parliament House, ‘thereby enabling persons with facial coverings to move from that point freely into the public portions of the building, including the chamber galleries’.71

61. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 2, 2013, 13 November 2013, pp. 51, 64–65. 62. Ibid., p. 39. 63. Ibid., p. 53. 64. C Pyne, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 November 2013, p. 92. 65. T Burke, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 November 2013, pp. 107, 110. 66. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 2, 2013, op. cit., pp. 64–65. 67. S Parry (President of the Senate), ‘Questions to the President: Parliament House security’, Senate, Debates, 2 October 2014, p. 7,660. The measures also involved visitors wearing coverings not wishing to be ‘readily identified in the galleries of each chamber’ using ‘the galleries that are fully enclosed in glass’: ibid. 68. Ibid. 69. B Bishop (Speaker of the House of Representatives), ‘Questions to the Speaker: Parliament House Security ’, House of Representatives, Debates, 20 October 2014, p. 11,337. 70. Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Official Committee Hansard, 20 October 2014, p. 8.

44th Parliament in review 10

Opposition motions On 27 March 2014 the Opposition unsuccessfully sought to move a in Speaker Bishop, citing a number of grounds including partiality towards government members.72 Subsequently on 26 May 2014 the Opposition unsuccessfully sought to refer Speaker Bishop’s use of a dining room to the House of Representatives Standing Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests.73 The Opposition also unsuccessfully moved that rulings of the Speaker be dissented from twice in late 2013 and once in mid-2015.74 Resignation of Speaker Bishop In mid-July 2015 controversy arose over Speaker Bishop’s charter of a helicopter for travel between and Geelong in early November 2014.75 Media reporting suggested that the charter was for the Speaker’s attendance at a Liberal Party event; the Speaker’s office stated that the charter was in accordance with entitlement guidelines and related to a schedule of several meetings in Victoria.76 It was also reported that the Speaker would reimburse the cost of the charter with an additional 25 per cent loading. In late July Mrs Bishop apologised for the charter and subsequently resigned as Speaker on 2 August 2015.77 Question Time House of Representatives On 13 November 2013 the Leader of the House, Mr Pyne, introduced a number of changes to standing orders, including the discontinuation of supplementary questions. Standing order 101 was amended to omit the Speaker’s discretion to allow supplementary questions to clarify an answer to a question during Question Time.78 The use of supplementary questions had been one of the reforms agreed under the Agreement for a better Parliament during the 43rd Parliament.79 Manager of Opposition Business MP (ALP, Watson, NSW) noted that the Government, when in Opposition, did: [not] find supplementary questions unacceptable, yet they were so happy to stand up and ask them in this chamber at this dispatch box only months ago. Never once in the last term of government did they say there was a problem with being able to ask supplementary questions.80

The Coalition Government continued the time limits for questions and answers at 30 seconds for questions and three for answers (SOs 100 and 104). On 20 October 2015 Prime Minister Turnbull informed the House that government members would trial a constituency question time to run every sitting day as part of questions without notice. After five questions have been asked by government members in the traditional way, further questions would be addressed to Ministers by government backbenchers on matters of interest to their local constituency. The trial commenced in the following sitting week (9–12 November 2015) and continued until the end of the year.81

71. Ibid., p. 9; see also B Bishop (Speaker of the House of Representatives), ‘Questions to the Speaker: Parliament House Security ’, op. cit., p. 11,338. 72. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 34, 2013–14, 27 March 2014, pp. 444–45. 73. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 38, 2013–14, 26 May 2014, pp. 485–7. 74. Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 2, 2013, 13 November 2013, pp. 40–3; Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 13, 2013, 10 December 2013, pp. 205–8; Australia, House of Representatives, Votes and Proceedings, 119, 2013–15, 1 June 2015, pp. 1,338–9. 75. Department of Finance (DoF), The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP: expenditure on entitlements paid by the Department of Finance 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2014, DoF, Canberra, n.d., p. 10. 76. A Smethurst, ‘Bishop flies into travel fee storm’, Adelaide Advertiser, 16 July 2015, p. 3; N Butterly, ‘Bishop under fire over travel bills’, West Australian, 16 July 2016, p. 4. DoF guidance on entitlements states that payments for charter travel by presiding officers, ministers and those in certain other roles is ‘for official business’: DoF, ‘Parliamentarians’ Expenditure on Entitlements—Period 1 July to 31 December 2014’, DoF website. 77. E Hall, ‘Bronwyn Bishop apologises for travel expense claims’, Radio National, ABC, 30 July 2015; B Bishop (Speaker of the House of Representatives), Statement, media release, 2 August 2015. 78. C Pyne, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 November 2013. 79. Agreement for a better Parliament: Parliamentary reform, 2010. In order to secure a second term of Government after the 2010 election, Prime Minister Gillard entered into a series of agreements with three independent MPs and the Australian Greens. This resulted in a formalised Agreement for a better parliament (the Agreement). 80. T Burke, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 November 2013 81. M Turnbull, Statements on indulgence, Questions Without Notice, House of Representatives, Debates, 20 October 2015,

44th Parliament in review 11

During the 44th Parliament there were 2,198 questions in writing and 3,515 questions without notice in the House of Representatives.82 Senate The Senate Procedure Committee raised two issues relating to Question Time in its First Report of 2014. One issue related to a temporary order that had been in place from 2009 relating to time limits for questions. The second matter related to the Committee agreement that the principle of proportionality should continue to govern the allocation of the call in question time.83 The Senate subsequently amended SO 72 to alter the time for asking of each primary question to not exceed one minute and answers to them shall not exceed two minutes; two supplementary questions shall be allowed to each questioner, each supplementary question shall be limited to thirty seconds and the answers to them shall be limited to one minute each and answers shall be directly relevant to each question.84 In the Senate there were 4,946 questions without notice (including 3,293 supplementary questions) and 2,211 questions placed on notice. Suspensions House of Representatives During the 44th Parliament the Speaker ordered members to leave the House of Representatives on 524 occasions, an increase of 88.5 per cent from the 43rd Parliament when 278 members were ejected. On eight occasions members were named and suspended, 515 were ‘sin binned’ (ordered to leave the Chamber under SO 94) for one hour, and one was ordered from the Federation Chamber for 15 minutes.85 The 44th Parliament saw a record of 18 members ejected on a single day (Thursday 27 November 2014) and the ejection from the Federation Chamber was the first on record. The vast proportion of disciplinary actions were ‘sin binnings’, accounting for over 98 per cent in both the 43rd and 44th parliaments. Most disciplinary actions occurred during and after Question Time in the period from 2 pm to 4 pm. Disorderly behaviour was more concentrated in the 44th Parliament when 50 members accounted for all the ejections compared to 61 members in the 43rd Parliament. Opposition members, irrespective of which party they belonged to, have always accounted for the largest proportion of disciplinary actions across all parliaments since Federation, at a rate of about 92.5 per cent. During the 44th Parliament this proportion was 97 per cent. Since entering the Parliament in 2007 Nick Champion MP (ALP, Wakefield, SA) has been ejected on 80 occasions, the most of any MP. He was ordered out 70 times during the 44th Parliament. The 44th Parliament was presided over by Speakers Bishop and Smith. Under Mrs Bishop’s speakership, 402 members were ejected at a rate of about three per day, the highest of any speakership. One hundred and twenty-two members were ejected by Speaker Smith at a rate of about two per day, the third highest rate after Mrs Bishop and Peter Slipper MP (IND, Fisher, Qld). Table 1 below shows the number of disciplinary actions taken in the last nine speakerships.

82. Department of the House of Representatives, Work of the session, winter session 18 April to 5 May 2016, The Department, Canberra, May 2016. 83. Senate Procedure Committee, First report of 2014, 26 June 2014. 84. Australia, Senate, Questions Without Notice—Standing Order 72—Amendment, Journals, SJ 35, 24 June 2014. 85. Glossary: a glossary of parliamentary words, Australian Parliament website, defines the term ‘named’ as ‘to formally identify a member for disorderly behaviour during a sitting of a house, by which action a presiding officer sets in train disciplinary proceedings which may result in the suspension of the member from the house’ and the term ‘suspended’ as ‘to remove a Senator or Member from a house and so prevent, for a time, his or her performing any duties in, or being present in, the house (usually in response to disorderly conduct by the Senator or Member)’.

44th Parliament in review 12

Table 1: Number and type of disciplinary actions taken under each speakership from the 38th to 44th Parliaments

Speaker Parliament Named Named Sin Total Number but not and binned proceeded suspended with Robert Halverson, 30.4.1996–3.3.1998 38 12 43 55 , 4.3.1998–31.8.1998 38 3 15 18 Neil Andrew, 10.11.1998–31.8.2004 39, 40 2 27 191 220 , 16.11.2004–17.10.2007 41 8 215 223 , 12.2.2008–24.11.2011 42, 43 1* 17 247 265 Peter Slipper, 24.11.2011–9.10.2012 43 1 114 115 , 9.10.2012–5.8.2013 43 66 66 Bronwyn Bishop, 12.11.2013–2.8.2015 44 7 395** 402 Tony Smith, 10.8.2015– 44 1 121 122 Source: Parliamentary Library estimates86

*The member was named but the vote to suspend him was negatived

**Includes one member who was ejected from the Federation Chamber for 15 minutes In the Senate, the practice is very different and disciplinary actions against senators for disorder are now very rare.87 Divisions House of Representatives There were 431 regular divisions and 42 divisions with four or fewer members on one side in the 44th Parliament.88 This is compared to 502 and 42 respectively in the 43rd Parliament, and 345 and six in the 42nd Parliament. The average number of divisions per day (2.5) is slightly higher than the average for the 1991–2011 period but lower than the average for the 43rd Parliament (3.1).89 Table 2 below shows the voting patterns of crossbench members of the House of Representatives and records the number of divisions from which they were absent. Table 2: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th Parliament (by number)

With Gov With Opp Absent Total

Bandt 20 349 62 431

Katter 37 64 330 431

McGowan 108 226 97 431

Palmer 21 12 398 431

Wilkie 33 356 42 431 Source: Parliamentary Library estimates

Figure 1 below shows the crossbench percentage of votes with the government and the opposition.

86. For further information and statistics see R Lundie, That’s it, you’re out': disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 2013, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 11 December 2013. 87. Department of the Senate, Odgers’ Australian Senate practice, Chapter 10 – debate, 13th edition, The Senate, Canberra, p. 270. 88. House of Representatives Standing Orders, as at 13 September 2016. Under SO 127 where there are four or fewer members on one side in a division the Speaker declares the decision of the House immediately without completing the count, 89. Department of the House of Representatives, House of Representatives Practice, 6th edition, The Department, Canberra, 2012, p. 274, footnote 329; The hung Parliament: procedural changes in the House of Representatives, op. cit.

44th Parliament in review 13

Figure 1: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th Parliament (by percentage of votes)

Bandt

Katter

McGowan

Palmer

Wilkie

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% With Gov With Opp Divisions Absent

Source: Parliamentary Library estimates Senate There were 787 divisions in the Senate, with 668 of these being held after the new senators elected in 2013 took their places on 1 July 2014. After senators Lambie and Lazarus left the PUP, on 24 November 2014 and 13 March 2015 respectively, their voting patterns changed noticeably (see Figure 2 below). Figure 2: Voting patterns of PUP senators and Senators Lambie (IND) and Lazarus (IND) in the 44th Parliament (by percentage) 60

50

40

30 Per centPer 20

10

0 PUP Lambie PUP Lambie IND Lazarus PUP Lazarus IND With Gov With Opp With GRN

Source: Parliamentary Library estimates Figure 3 below shows that senators Day (FFP) and Leyonhjelm (LDP) voted with the Government more frequently than other crossbenchers, while senators Muir (AMEP), Lambie (IND), Lazarus (IND), and the Australian Greens were more likely to vote with the Opposition.

44th Parliament in review 14

Figure 3: Crossbench voting patterns in the 44th Parliament (by percentage)

70

60

50

40

30

20 Per cent of total divisions total of centPer 10

0 AMEP FFP LD Lambie Lazarus Madigan PUP Xenophon GRN

LIB/NAT ALP GRN Absent

Source: Parliamentary Library estimates

Legislation Volume of legislation In the House of Representatives a total of 548 bills (511 Government and 38 private members’ bills) were introduced in the 44th Parliament. In the Senate a total of 103 bills (21 Government and 76 private senators’ bills) were introduced. In the 44th Parliament these bills resulted in 379 Acts of which one was a private members’ Act. Due to the finely balanced numbers in the Senate during the 44th Parliament, 39 Government bills were defeated in that Chamber. A number of these were reintroduced to the Parliament at a later stage. As a result of the Coalition’s majority in the House of Representatives there were no defeats of Government bills in that Chamber. In comparison to the 43rd Parliament, 187 fewer bills became Acts in the 44th Parliament; see Table 3 below. Table 3: Bills introduced in 40th to 44th Parliaments and total number of Acts

Parliament Govt bills Private Govt bills Private Total Acts introduced members’ introduced senators’ (private MPs’ in HoR bills in Senate bills Acts) introduced in introduced HoR in Senate 40th 537 44 24 52 427 (0) 41st 583 34 83 60 549 (3) 42nd 552 20 25 76 409 (0) 43rd 610 72 31 81 566 (6) 44th 511 38 21 76 379 (1) Source: Parliamentary Library estimates Key: ‘Acts’ comprises Bills that have passed both Houses, received assent, or been enacted

44th Parliament in review 15

House of Representatives—bills discharged and private members’ bills Two Government bills were discharged from the Notice Paper in the House of Representatives during the course of the 44th Parliament:90 • Food Standards Australia New Zealand Amendment Bill 2015 and • Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Bill 2014. One Government bill was laid aside (not pursued further) in the House of Representatives during the course of the 44th Parliament: • Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 [No. 2]. When laid aside, this bill was a trigger for a double dissolution election. However, this trigger was removed when the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2014 was introduced in September 2014 and passed both Houses and became law.91 Thirty-seven private members bills were introduced into the House during the 44th Parliament (see Appendix 1). The Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2014, sponsored by Speaker Bishop, passed both Houses; the rest were defeated. One private members Bill, the Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, was introduced by a group of cross- party Members of the House of Representatives. It lapsed in the House of Representatives at prorogation. Senate—bills discharged, private senators’ bills and double dissolution triggers Four Government bills were discharged from the Notice Paper in the Senate during the course of the 44th Parliament: • Automotive Transformation Scheme Amendment Bill 2014 • Migration Amendment (Regaining Control Over Australia’s Protection Obligations) Bill 2013 • Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 1) Bill 2014 and • Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 2) Bill 2014. Seventy-six private senators’ bills were introduced into the Senate during the 44th Parliament (see Appendix 2). Ten of those were cross-party bills. As noted above, 39 Government bills were defeated in the Senate. Of these, 37 were potential triggers for a double dissolution election. A list of bills in the 44th Parliament that may have met the requirements of Section 57 of the Constitution is available on the Senate website.92 Of those 37 bills, three bills—the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No. 2], the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2], and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2]—were listed in the proclamation dissolving both Houses of Parliament on 9 May 2016 as the double dissolution triggers having met the requirements of Section 57 of the Constitution. Further information on these trigger bills and documentation associated with the double dissolution is at Appendix 3. Crossbench At the 2013 election support for minor parties and independents reached record levels for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The election was distinguished by the extent to which sophisticated preferencing strategies were employed by parties and candidates to optimise their chances of success. In the Senate vote, the micro-parties successfully negotiated with the major parties preference swaps (called harvesting the ‘above-the-line’ preferences) and managed to increase the number of crossbench senators to 18 out of 76.93

90. House of Representatives, Guide to procedures, 5th ed, 2014, p. 21, states ‘In the case of items of government business on which no further debate is desired, it is customary for the House from time to time to agree to a motion to discharge [remove] these from the Notice Paper’. 91. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘Bills laid aside or negatived, their history and status as possibly meeting the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution [44th Parliament - 1st and 2nd sessions]’. 92. Compiled by the Department of the Senate. 93. A Green, Record vote for minor parties at the 2013 election, ’s election blog, 19 November 2013.

44th Parliament in review 16

In the House the 21.1 per cent (primary vote) non-major party support at the 2013 election broke the 20.4 per cent record at One Nation’s first election in 1998 (the level of support for independents and minor parties has been above 14 per cent (primary vote) at every election since 1996).94 However, this did not result in more crossbenchers being elected to the House of Representatives; the 44th Parliament saw five crossbenchers sitting in the House—one less than during the 43rd Parliament. Non-major support in the Senate has always been several percentage points higher than in the House. The level of 32.2 per cent primary vote achieved at the 2013 election for the Senate surpassed 26.2 per cent in 2010. Minor party and independent support in the Senate has been above 19 per cent at every election since 1996.95 During the 44th Parliament three senators elected as members of micro-parties announced their intention to quit their parties and sit as independents. These senators later announced their intention to form their own micro-parties (see Table 4 below). House of Representatives The Greens retained their sole seat of Melbourne (Vic.) when Adam Bandt pushed his primary vote to 42.62 per cent—an increase of 7.03%. In Denison (Tas.), Independent Andrew Wilkie increased his personal vote to 38.08 per cent. The other remarkable outcome was the only defeat of a sitting Liberal member, , by Independent Cathy McGowan, in what had previously been a safe Coalition seat, Indi (Vic.). Nationally, PUP secured 5.5 per cent of the vote for the House of Representatives. In Queensland, PUP received 11.02 per cent of the overall primary vote and outpolled Katter’s Australia Party (KAP) across most seats. Clive Palmer himself stood for, and won, the House of Representatives seat of Fairfax (Qld) by 53 votes, following a long and controversial re-count.96 Bob Katter was re-elected as the sole representative for the Katter’s Australia Party, but suffered a 17 per cent swing against him in Kennedy (Qld). Senate The so-called ‘preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery played a key role in the election of micro-party representatives: (AMEP, Vic.) with only 0.51 per cent of the primary vote; and Wayne Dropulich (Australian Sports Party, WA) with only 0.2 per cent of the primary vote. Dropulich subsequently failed to win a seat in the rerun WA Senate election conducted in April 2014.97 Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm (NSW) with 8.5 per cent of the vote was elected amidst controversy over the party name, which it has been suggested, voters confused with the Liberal Party and an advantageous spot on the ballot paper.98 Family First candidate Bob Day (SA) was elected on 3.76 per cent of the primary vote. Following the 2014 rerun Senate election in the Greens won four Senate seats and 9.23 per cent of the national vote, bringing their total number to 10. One of the most remarkable stories was that of the PUP and its leader Clive Palmer. PUP had planned to field candidates in all 150 House of Representative seats at the September election as well as Senate teams in all states and territories. In the Senate, former rugby league player Glenn Lazarus won Queensland’s fifth spot, Jacqui Lambie won in Tasmania and Zhenya Dio Wang won a seat following the 2014 Senate election in Western Australia.99 On 10 October 2013, AMEP senator-elect Ricky Muir announced an alliance with PUP.100 The two parties aimed to work together and, where practicable, vote together in the Senate.101

94. Note: was elected as an Independent in 1996. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party was not formed until June 1997. 95. A Green, Record vote for minor parties at the 2013 election, op. cit. 96. Australian Electoral Commission, Declaration of the poll in the electorate of Fairfax, media release, 31 October 2013. 97. A Green, Ricky Muir's strange path to the Senate, Antony Green’s election blog, 7 August 2014. 98. D Leyonhejelm, Opinion: Liberals don't live up to their name, unlike the LDP, The Australian, 1 October 2013. 99. B Holmes, Federal Election 2013: issues, dynamics, outcomes, Research paper series, 2013–14, 22 January 2014, p. 25. 100. H Ewart, ‘Clive Palmer and motoring enthusiast grab balance’, The 7.30 Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 10 October 2013. 101. Palmer United Party and Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and the Palmer United Party, media release, 6 October 2013.

44th Parliament in review 17

From the beginning of the new Senate on 1 July 2014 the crossbenchers held the balance of power and therefore were able to block legislation in the Senate when the Opposition did not vote with the Government. The Government, holding 33 seats in the Senate, required six votes to ensure the passage of measures in the Senate. The Government had to negotiate with the crossbenchers, of which PUP (with the AMEP’s vote) was the largest voting bloc, for legislation opposed by Labor or the Greens. The Government did get some contentious legislation passed through the Senate including the abolition of the carbon and mining taxes and temporary protection visas but was blocked on other measures, including ‘$30 billion dollars’ in savings from the 2014 budget.102 These savings included a proposed $7 GP co-payment, a six- month wait for unemployment benefits for people under thirty and funding cuts, lower indexation for pensions and deregulation for higher education. Other measures blocked included the abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the reinstatement of the ABCC (see Appendix 3).103 However PUP’s voting bloc was diminished as the alliance with AMEP ended and members left PUP. By March 2015 PUP had reduced to one member in the Senate, Senator Wang, following the resignations of Lambie in November 2014 and Lazarus in March 2015.104 This unravelling of PUP meant that the Government was required to negotiate with eight of the crossbenchers, if it did not have the support of the Opposition or the Greens, to pass its agenda. Table 4 below indicates when crossbench senators resigned from the party they were elected to represent to sit as independents and subsequently set up their own micro-parties.

Table 4: Senators sitting as independents and registering new parties

Senator Party at 2013 Date moved to Name of new party Date new party election sit as registered independent John Madigan Democratic 4 September John Madigan’s 18 May 2015 Labour Party 2014 Manufacturing and Farming Party (MFP) Jacqui Lambie Palmer United 24 November Jacqui Lambie 14 May 2015 Party 2014 Network (JLN) Glenn Lazarus Palmer United 16 March 2015 Glenn Lazarus 9 July 2015 Party Team Source: compiled by the Parliamentary Library Committees House of Representatives The Government elected to keep the number of general purpose standing committees for the 44th Parliament to nine (down from 12 in the 42nd Parliament)—albeit with minor changes in nomenclature, including the removal of the Standing Committee on Regional Australia and the creation of the Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue. The Government did however raise the number of members permitted on each committee to 10 (six Government, four non-government members) with the possibility to supplement membership by up to four members (two Government, two non-government). This was a return to standard practice after the 43rd Parliament had limited committee membership to seven (four government, three non-government) with the added provision that if a non-aligned member was appointed to a committee the total membership was

102. Mr Abbott (Prime Minister), Transcript of interview with Neil Mitchell: Radio 3AW Melbourne: 18 March 2015: Budget, media release, 18 March 2015. 103. T Dale and K Swoboda, ‘Previous measures: those revised in the 2015–16 Budget and those not yet proceeded with’, Budget Review 2015–16, Research paper series, 2015–16, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2015. 104. A Green, Palmer United - the rise and demise of a vanity party, Antony Green’s election blog, 19 January 2016.

44th Parliament in review 18

increased to eight. The permitted time for the Government to respond to committee reports was kept to six months. The number of committee reports presented during the 44th Parliament, 319, was below the number presented in the 43rd Parliament (449) but still more than the 187 reports presented in the 42nd Parliament.105 The number of committee reports presented is shown in Figure 4 below. Figure 4: Number of committee reports presented by year from 1994

*Indicates election year Source: House of Representatives, Work of the session, 18 April to 5 May 2016, p. 31

Selection committee The House of Representatives Selection Committee was re-established in the 43rd Parliament with a wider role than that of Selection Committees established in the 41st and previous parliaments.106 In the 44th Parliament the operation of the Selection Committee was changed. The Leader of the House announced that the Selection Committee’s determinations could automatically refer items of private members’ business directly to or from the Federation Chamber without the Speaker's involvement.107 Another change involved the composition of the Committee, with Mr Pyne stating: We will not be continuing with the situation where the Selection Committee has a majority of non-government members on it. That would be unusual in a parliament where there are 90 government members and 60 non- government members. We will be removing the crossbench member from the Selection Committee.108

Senate During the 44th Parliament the Senate established 13 select committees in addition to the eight standing domestic committees, two legislative scrutiny committees and eight legislative and general purpose

105. House of Representatives website, ‘Work of the session’. 106. House of Representatives website, Selection Committee, notes that in the 44th Parliament the Selection Committee was responsible for the selection of committee and delegation business and private Members' business. See House of Representatives Standing Orders, as at 13 November 2013, SO 222, for a full description of the role of the Committee in the 44th Parliament. See also The hung Parliament paper, op. cit., pp. 5–6 for details of the operation of the Selection Committee in the 43rd Parliament. 107. C Pyne, ‘Motions: Standing and Sessional Orders’, op. cit. 108. Ibid.

44th Parliament in review 19

committees.109 This number of select committees far exceeds the ‘ideal’ number of up to four select committees referred to in Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice.110 A distinctive feature of the 44th Parliament was the number of references to Senate committees. In the Department of the Senate’s Annual Report 2014–15, the Clerk of the Senate, Dr Rosemary Laing, observed that: A larger and more diverse cross-bench stretched the department’s capacity to provide procedural and legislative drafting support. ... After the July [2014] sittings, as chamber operations became more settled, the focus moved to committees where new records were set in the number of matters referred concurrently by the Senate to its existing committees and to select committees established for specific purposes. Many inquiries were generated by an increasingly active and influential cross-bench and “a Senate inquiry” continued to be seen as a remedy of first resort for examining policy change and program delivery, and for scrutinising government operations. … around 70 111 concurrent inquiries [has become] the new average.

In February 2016, Dr Laing provided an update to an Estimates hearing, informing the committee that: … there has been an average of three new references inquiries for each sitting week for the whole of the parliament and two bills on average per sitting day for the whole of the parliament. The economics committees currently have 17 inquiries, followed by the legal and constitutional affairs committees with 10. Overall, the Senate Committee Office is currently supporting 83 separate inquiries, which is either a record or pretty near it. This number does not include the work of the legislative scrutiny committees or those joint committees whose secretariats are provided 112 by the other side. … Frankly, I wonder where all this is heading.

Figure 5 below shows the number of inquiry references and bills inquiry references to committees in the 42nd, 43rd and 44th Parliaments.113 The total number of inquiries conducted in the 44th Parliament (352) was greater than in the two preceding parliaments. There were 135 reference inquiries in the 44th Parliament—over 50 per cent more than in either of the 43rd and 42nd parliaments.114 Figure 5: Senate Standing Committees – Comparison of inquiries in the 42nd, 43rd and 44th Parliaments 400

300

200

Number of of Number inquiries 100

0 42nd 43rd 44th References Bills Total

Source: Figures compiled by the Department of the Senate

109. These figures do not include Joint Committees that the Senate may support. 110. Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice, op.cit., p.463. 111. Department of the Senate, Annual Report 2014–15, The Department, Canberra, 2015, pp. 3–4. 112. Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Official Committee Hansard, 8 February 2016, pp. 4–5. 113. The figures in Table 5 include inquires by References committees which inquire into and report upon various general matters referred to them by the Senate and Legislation committees which inquire into and report on any bills or draft bills referred to them. See Department of the Senate, No 4: Senate committees, Senate briefs, Department of the Senate website. 114. Department of the Senate, Report to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee: Senate committee activities, Budget Estimates, 5 May 2016, graph 1.

44th Parliament in review 20

In comparing the figures for each parliament, it is relevant to note that, because of the double dissolution in May 2016, the 44th Parliament did not run to its possible full term. If the Parliament had not been dissolved in May 2016, and the average of three references per week had been maintained, the total number of references would have exceeded 135. Estimates committees Changes to Estimates procedure resulted from motions moved by the Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Senator . Several of the motions were aimed at strengthening the rights of minorities in the Senate. Some of these changes appear to have sprung from frustrations experienced during the 2014 May Budget estimates hearings with hearings being closed down early and senators prevented from continuing with questions to particular agencies. The notices of motion which were passed made a number of changes to the procedures of estimates committees as well as amending SO 26.115 The changes include providing for any three members of a legislation committee to require a spillover hearing, either on the Friday of an estimates week or on another day; an amendment to SO 26 allowing senators to continue with questions on a program until all questions have been asked or senators agree to put them on notice; orders of continuing effect requiring Senate ministers to table information about the status of answers to questions taken on notice at previous estimates rounds; and strengthening the accountability obligations of officers. Subsequently the Senate Procedure Committee was requested to examine these changes and reported in March 2015.116 Composition of the 44th Parliament by party and gender Following the September 2013 federal election, the number of women in the House of Representatives rose from 37 (25 per cent) to 39 (26 per cent). When the new senators took their places on 1 July 2014, the number of women in the Senate declined from 30 (39 per cent) to 29 (38 per cent). Overall the number of women in Parliament rose from 67 to 68 (30 per cent).117 The table below shows the number and percentage of women in the House of Representatives immediately after the September 2013 federal election.118 The table also shows the number and percentage of women in the Senate as at 1 July 2014 and the total number and percentage of women.119 Table 5: Number and percentage of women by party in the House of Representatives following the 2013 election and number and percentage of women by party in the Senate as at 1 July 2014

Party Men Women % Women House of Representatives (2013) ALP 35 20 36.4 LIB 58 16 21.6 NP 14 1 6.7 CLP 0 1 100.0 GRN 1 0 0.0 KAP 1 0 0.0 PUP 1 0 0.0 IND 1 1 50.0

115. Australia, Senate, Legislation Committees—Estimates Hearings, Journals, SJ No. 36, 25 June 2014. 116. Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, First report of 2015, The Committee, Canberra, March 2015. 117. M Lumb, ‘Composition of the 44th Parliament’, Parliamentary Library Briefing Book: Key Issues for the 4th Parliament, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, December 2013, p. 4. 118. J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender, as at 2 July 2014, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014. The figures in Composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender differ slightly from those in the table above as they take into account the Griffith by-election on 8 February 2014, at which Terri Butler was elected to replace Kevin Rudd. 119. Ibid.

44th Parliament in review 21

Total 111 39 26.0

Senate (1 July 2014)

Party Men Women % Women ALP 11 14 56.0 LIB 22 5 18.5 NP 3 2 40.0 CLP 1 0 0.0 GRN 3 7 70.0 AMEP 1 0 0.0 DLP 1 0 0.0 FFP 1 0 0.0 IND 1 0 0.0 LDP 1 0 0.0 PUP 2 1 33.3 Total 47 29 38.2

Total for Parliament on 1 July following the 2013 election

Party Men Women % Women ALP 46 34 42.5 LIB 80 21 20.5 NP 17 3 15.0 CLP 1 1 50.0 GRN 4 7 63.6 PUP 3 1 25.0 Others 7 1 12.5 Total 158 68 30.0 Source: J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender, as at 2 July 2014, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014 Ministry Prime Minister Abbott received considerable criticism for appointing only one woman to Cabinet and a total of six women in the ministry when he announced his ministry in September 2013.120 In the 43rd Parliament in the Rudd second ministry, from 27 June 2013 to 18 September 2013 there had been six women in Cabinet and 13 in the total ministry (31.0 per cent). In the Gillard second ministry in the period from 25 March to 27 June 2013 the number of women ministers reached a peak of 14 (33.3 per cent).121 Prime Minister Turnbull appointed a further

120. P van Onselen, Women in for a long wait, Sunday Tasmanian, 22 September 2013; M Devine, Opinion: Women should learn from Julie, Sunday Telegraph, 22 September 2013. 121. Parliamentary Library, Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 44th Parliament, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014; Commonwealth Government, Ministry lists.

44th Parliament in review 22

three women to Cabinet in his first ministry bringing the total to five out of a Cabinet of 21 (23.8 per cent). As shown in Table 6 below, the proportion of women in the ministry increased by almost 10 per cent over the course of the 44th Parliament. Table 6: Number of women in the ministry during the 44th Parliament

Ministry 18 September 21 December 20 September 13 February 2016 2013 2014 2015 Cabinet J Bishop J Bishop J Bishop J Bishop S Ley S Ley S Ley M Cash M Cash K O’Dwyer K O’Dwyer M Payne M Payne F Nash Outer M Cash M Cash F Nash C Ferravanti-Wells Ministry M Payne M Payne S Ley F Nash F Nash Parliamentary C Fierravanti- C Fierravanti- C Fierravanti- K Andrews secretaries Wells Wells Wells A Ruston K O’Dwyer K Andrews J Prentice K Andrews A Ruston Women/total 6/42 8/42 9/42 10/42 ministry Percentage of 14.2 19.0 21.4 23.8 women in the ministry Source: Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2014; Commonwealth Government, various ministry lists By-elections and casual vacancies House of Representatives Three by-elections were held during the 44th Parliament. One was caused by the retirement of former prime minister Kevin Rudd who became ‘only the fourth former prime minister to have lost an election or the leadership of his party and resigned from parliament shortly afterwards, bringing about a by-election’.122 Former Treasurer, Joe Hockey, resigned to become the Australian Ambassador to the United States.123 There were no by-elections during the 43rd Parliament, while five were held during the 42nd Parliament.124 Table 7: By-elections during the 44th Parliament By-election Division/State Member Party Previous Party Cause of by- Date seat date elected Member election vacated 8.2.2014 Griffith, Qld Terri Butler ALP Kevin Rudd ALP Resigned 22.11.2013 19.9.2015 Canning, WA Andrew LIB Don LIB Died 22.7.2015 Hastie Randall125

122. J Wilson, R Lundie and D McKeown, Zippers: former prime ministers leaving parliament, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 14 November 2013. 123. J Bishop (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Ambassador to the United States of America, media release, 8 December 2015. 124. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), ‘Federal elections’ and ‘By-elections & Supplementary Elections’, AEC website, accessed 6 July 2016.

44th Parliament in review 23

5.12.2015 North Sydney, Trent LIB Joe Hockey LIB Resigned 23.10.2015 NSW Zimmerman

Source: Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), ‘Federal elections’ and ‘By-elections & Supplementary Elections’, AEC website. Senate There were nine appointments to the Senate, filling casual vacancies, during the 44th Parliament. This compares with eleven in the 43rd Parliament and one in the 42nd Parliament.126 The resignations from the Senate in the 44th Parliament included those of former ALP ministers John Faulkner and and Liberal Party ministers and . The latter was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands.127 Leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne resigned and Chief Minister of the ACT, Katy Gallagher resigned from the ACT Assembly to take up a Senate position.128 Table 8: Casual vacancies in the 44th Parliament Date of State New Party Previous senator Party Cause of vacancy Date seat appointment senator vacated 13.11.2013 NSW Deborah ALP Bob Carr ALP Resigned 24.10.2013 129 O’Neill 2.7.2014 11.2.2014130 Qld Barry NP Barnaby Joyce NP Resigned 8.8.2013 O’Sullivan 25.3.2015 ACT Katy ALP Kate Lundy ALP Resigned 24.3.2015 Gallagher 6.5.2015 NSW Jenny ALP John Faulkner ALP Resigned 6.2.2015 McAllister 21.5.2015 Qld Joanna LIB Brett Mason LIB Resigned 15.4.2015 Lindgren 19.8.2015 Tas. Nick McKim GRN Christine Milne GRN Resigned 10.8.2015 22.9.2015 SA Robert GRN Penny Wright GRN Resigned 10.9.2015 Simms 9.3.2016 Vic. James LIB Michael LIB Resigned 28.2.2016 Paterson Ronaldson 28.4.2016 WA Patrick ALP Joe Bullock ALP Resigned 13.4.2016 Dodson131

Source: Parliamentary Library, ‘Senate vacancies’, Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 44th Parliament, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014

125. The last by-election held because of the death of a sitting member was in 2000 for the seat of Aston, Vic., following the death of Liberal member Peter Nugent. See D Muller, ‘The 2015 Canning By-Election’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 21 August 2015. 126. AEC, op. cit., and Parliamentary Library, ‘Senate vacancies’, Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 44th Parliament, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014. 127. J Bishop (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Ambassador to the Netherlands, media release, 21 April 2015. 128. See Australia, Senate, ’Vacancy in the representation of Tasmania’, Journals, SJ No. 103, 10 August 2015 and ‘Resignation of Chief Minister’, ACT Assembly, Debates, 10 December 2014, p. 4,347. 129. In October 2013 Senator Bob Carr submitted a double resignation from his current term and from the term to which he had been elected, to commence from 1 July 2014. The Parliament filled the current vacancy only. The vacancy commencing on 1 July 2014 was filled on 2 July 2014. For more information, see: , Senate, Procedural Information Bulletin No 284, for the sitting period 7 to 18 July 2014, Parliament of Australia website. 130. Barnaby Joyce resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 to contest the House of Representatives seat of New England (NSW) in the 2013 federal election. The casual vacancy for the state of Queensland was filled on 11 February 2014 with the appointment of Barry O’Sullivan. 131. Note: Senator Dodson (ALP, WA) was sworn in on 2 May 2016, having been chosen by the Parliament of Western Australia, at a specially convened sitting, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Bullock (ALP, WA) on 13 April 2016. See Australia, Senate, ‘Vacancy in the Representation of Western Australia—Choice of Patrick Lionel Dodson’, Journals, 151, 2 May 2016.

44th Parliament in review 24

Addresses to the Parliament There were four addresses to Parliament during the 44th Parliament: Table 9: Addresses to the 44th Parliament

Date Name Position 8 July 2014 His Excellency Mr Shinzo Abe Prime Minister of Japan 14 November 2014 Rt Hon. David Cameron Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 17 November 2014 His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China 18 November 2014 Mr Narendra Modi Prime Minister of the Republic of India Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library Ministerial statements An options paper published in a November 2015 Senate Procedure Committee report acknowledged the importance of ministerial statements, suggesting that: Debates on ministerial statements can be among the more significant policy debates that take place in a House.132

The paper noted that: Ministerial statements are the traditional way of announcing significant government policy developments, or of communicating matters of ministerial responsibility to the Houses. The system of ministerial representation that operates in the Commonwealth Parliament ensures that there is an appropriate means for such statements to be made and/or tabled in both Houses.133

The paper suggests that these principles are not always observed.134 In 2010 one expert observed that: The Rudd government revived the worthy practice of ministerial statements. This should continue, followed by a question period of 15 to 30 minutes. This would enhance both accountability and parliamentary debate of important public issues.135

House of Representatives During the 44th Parliament 51 ministerial statements were made compared with 88 in the 43rd Parliament and 125 in the 42nd.136 In the 43rd Parliament the Agreement for a better Parliament had stated that: The Speaker will ensure that opportunities to respond are provided to non-Government Members.137

In the 44th Parliament the most usual response was from the relevant shadow minister. In six instances a number of members of the government and opposition responded to reports and only one member of the crossbench, Cathy McGowan (IND, Indi, Vic.), responded.138 On 26 March 2015 the House of Representatives agreed to a new standing order relating to Ministerial statements: 63A Ministerial statements

132. Senate Procedure Committee, Third Report of 2015, 10 November 2015, Attachment 1. 133. Ibid. 134. Ibid. 135. J Nethercote, ‘Bringing the house to order’, Australian, 3 September 2010. 136. The Hung Parliament, op. cit., p. 22. 137. Agreement for a better Parliament, reproduced in the Hung Parliament paper, cl. 9.2, p. 5., In order to secure a second term of Government after the 2010 election, Prime Minister Gillard entered into a series of agreements with three independent MPs and the Australian Greens. This resulted in a formalised Agreement for a better parliament (the Agreement). 138. C McGowan, ‘Ministerial statements: closing the gap’, House of Representatives, Debates, 10 February 2016.

44th Parliament in review 25

When the House has granted a Minister leave to make a ministerial statement, the House shall be deemed to have granted leave for the Leader of the Opposition, or Member representing, to speak in response to the statement for an equal amount of time.139

Senate In the Senate 55 Ministerial Statements were delivered during the 44th Parliament compared with 98 in the previous parliament.140 In November 2015 the Senate Procedure Committee tabled a report that considered, in part, a process for the presentation and debate of ministerial statements. The Clerk was asked to prepare an options paper on the issue.141 The report considered a process for the presentation and debate of ministerial statements with the committee endorsing a number of suggestions including that: 3. Governments be encouraged to present ministerial statements to both Houses unless the statement concerns an issue of relevance to one House only.

4. Governments be encouraged to provide information about forthcoming ministerial statements in time for consideration by the Whips meeting (for consultation on whether a statement should be presented separately at the designated place on the Red).

5. Governments be encouraged to notify Opposition spokespeople and crossbenchers in advance of particular ministerial statements.

6. Create a right for senators to move a motion to take note of a ministerial statement without notice.142

The report recommended, in relation to point 6 above, that a temporary order providing a right for senators to move, without notice, a motion to take note of a ministerial statement presented other than at the commencement of sittings, be tested for the remainder of the 44th Parliament.143 The recommendation was endorsed by the Senate on 11 November 2015.144 The report noted that, before this recommendation: Ministerial statements have not been formally recognised in the standing orders as an element of the routine of business at any time in the Senate’s history, although they have been – and continue to be – informally recognised on the Order of Business or Senate “Red”.145 Petitions The petition with the greatest number of signatures (1,210,471) since 1988, when the number of signatures was first recorded, was presented in the House of Representatives on 26 February 2014.146 The petition concerned funding support for community pharmacies. During the 44th Parliament, in the House of Representatives 263 petitions were presented (with a total of 1,734,366 signatures) and 193 ministerial response letters were presented.147 During the 44th Parliament there were 82 petitions presented in the Senate.148 The Senate does not require ministerial responses.

139. Australia, House of Representatives, ‘Amendment to standing orders’, Votes and Proceedings, HVP 111, 26 March 2015. 140. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘General statistics’. 141. Senate Procedure Committee, Third Report of 2015, 10 November 2015 142. Ibid., p. 1. 143. Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, First report of 2016, The Senate, Canberra, October 2016, p. 1, states ‘The purpose of the order was to create a right for a minister to deliver a ministerial statement and for a senator to move without notice to take note of the statement (whether given orally or tabled), with time limits of 10 minutes per speaker for a total not exceeding 30 minutes’. 144. Australia, Senate, ‘Procedure—Standing Committee—Third Report of 2015—Consideration’, Journals, No. 125, 11 November 2015. 145. Ibid., Attachment 1, p. 5. 146. J Prentice, ‘Statements by members, Petition: Pharmacy Guild of Australia’, House of Representatives, Debates, 26 February 2014. 147. House of Representatives, Work of the session: winter session 18 April to the 5 May 2016, House of Representatives, Canberra, May 2016.

44th Parliament in review 26

Other procedural changes Use of electronic devices On 27 February 2014 the use of electronic devices in the House of Representatives and the Federation Chamber was referred to the House Procedure Committee to inquire and report. In its report, tabled on 24 September 2014, the Committee recommended that the House consider and adopt a resolution permitting the use of electronic devices in the Chamber, Federation Chamber and committees provided that: • the use of any device did not distract other Members • the devices did not interfere with proceedings and were not used to record proceedings • were not used to communicate private meetings of committees or in camera hearings which would be considered a potential breach of privilege and • use should be directly related to the Members’ parliamentary duties. The Committee also noted that that communication via electronic devices, whether in the Chamber or not, was unlikely to be covered by parliamentary privilege; and that reflections on the Chair by Members made on social media may be treated as matters of order just as any such reflections made inside or outside the Chamber.149 The House adopted the Resolution on 26 March 2015.150 Children in the House of Representatives Chamber On 26 November 2015 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure tabled a report, Provisions for a more family-friendly Chamber. The Speaker asked the Committee to consider the adequacy of arrangements for proxy voting and whether a Member should be allowed to breastfeed in the Chamber. The Committee, while supportive of the continued use of the proxy vote provisions, recommended: that standing order 257 be amended to add paragraph (d) as follows: 257 Admission of Senators and visitors … (d) A visitor does not include an infant being cared for by a Member151

On 2 February 2016 the Leader of the House introduced the necessary changes to SO 257 in order to allow infants to be brought into the Chamber and Federation Chamber by Members. In a media release Mr Pyne claimed: No Member of Parliament, male or female, will ever again be prevented from participating fully in the law making processes of Parliament because they are also caring for their child.152

148. Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, ‘General statistics’. 149. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Use of electronic devices in the chamber and the federation chamber, 24 September 2014, Appendix B. See also B Holmes, ‘Use of social media by MPs in the Chamber’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 24 September 2014, and S Fernandes, ‘Tweeting from the chamber’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 4 March 2013. 150. Australia, House of Representatives, ‘Proposed resolution concerning the use of electronic devices’, Votes and Proceedings, 26 March 2015. 151. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Provisions for a more family friendly Chamber, Report, The Committee, November 2015, p. 6. 152. C Pyne (Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Leader of the House), Family Friendly Changes to the House of Representatives, media release, 2 February 2016.

44th Parliament in review 27

Appendix 1: Private members’ bills introduced in the House of Representatives Shading indicates that the Bill became an Act

Short title Sponsor Party 1. Australian Education Amendment (School Funding Guarantee) ALP 2014 2. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Wilkie IND (Restoring Merits Review) Bill 2014 3. Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Regional Australia McGowan IND Statements) Bill 2015 4. Credit Repayment (Protecting Vulnerable Borrowers) Bill 2015 Katter IND 5. Criminal Code Amendment (Private Sexual Material) Bill 2015 T Butler ALP Watts ALP 6. Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Bandt GRN Service) Bill 2014 7. Ethical Cosmetics Bill 2016 O’Neil ALP 8. Fair Work Amendment (Prohibiting Discrimination Based On Christensen NP Location) Bill 2015 9. Fair Work Amendment (Recovery of Unpaid Amounts for Bandt GRN Franchisee Employees) Bill 2015 10. Flags Amendment (Protecting Australian Flags) Bill 2016 Christensen NP 11. Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic Assets) Katter IND Bill 2015 12. Foreign Death Penalty Offences (Preventing Information Palmer PUP Disclosure) Bill 2015 13. Gambling Harm Reduction (Protecting Problem Gamblers and Wilkie IND Other Measures) Bill 2014 14. Gambling Harm Reduction (Protecting Problem Gamblers and Wilkie IND Other Measures) Bill 2016 15. High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2013 Albanese ALP 16. High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2015 Albanese ALP 17. High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2016 Albanese ALP 18. Imported Food Warning Labels Bill 2015 Katter IND 19. Iron Ore Supply and Demand (Commission of Inquiry) Bill 2015 Katter IND 20. Live Animal Export Prohibition (Ending Cruelty) Bill 2014 Wilkie IND 21. Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 Shorten ALP 22. Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill 2016 Plibersek ALP 23. Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 Entsch LIB Gambaro LIB T Butler ALP Ferguson ALP Bandt GRN McGowan IND

44th Parliament in review 28

Short title Sponsor Party Wilkie IND 24. Migration Amendment (Ending the Nation’s Shame) Bill 2014 Wilkie IND 25. Migration Amendment (Mandatory Reporting) Bill 2015 Marles ALP 26. Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australia Fund Bill 2014 Palmer PUP 27. Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2014153 B Bishop LIB 28. Privacy Amendment (Protecting Children from Paparazzi) Bill 2015 Katter IND 29. Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment Katter IND (Procuring Australian Goods and Services) Bill 2016 30. Public Service Amendment (Employment for all of us) Bill 2014 Bandt GRN 31. Renew Australia Bill 2016 Bandt GRN 32. Renewable Fuel Bill 2016 Katter IND 33. Sex Discrimination Amendment (Boosting Superannuation for Bandt GRN Women) Bill 2014 34. Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Transparency) Bill 2014 Leigh ALP 35. Tax Laws Amendment (Tougher Penalties for Country-by-Country Leigh ALP Reporting) Bill 2016 36. Telecommunications Amendment (Giving the Community Rights Wilkie IND on Phone Towers) Bill 2014 37. Tax Laws Amendment (Tougher Penalties for Country-by-Country Leigh ALP Reporting) Bill 2016 38. Trade Marks Amendment (Iconic Symbols of National Identity) Bill Katter IND 2015 Source: Chamber Research Office, House of Representatives Private Members’ Bills, House of Representatives Statistics.

153. Bill sponsored by the Speaker, see B Bishop (Speaker), ‘Second reading speech: Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2014’, House of Representatives, Debates, 26 November 2014.

44th Parliament in review 29

Appendix 2: Private senators’ bills introduced in the Senate Note: • The Table below only includes Bills introduced after the opening of Parliament on 12 November 2013 and • Party membership is noted at the day of the Bill’s introduction. Short title Sponsor Party 1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Amendment (A Stronger Land Siewert GRN Account) Bill 2014 2. Adelaide Airport Curfew Amendment (Protecting Residents’ Amenity) Wright GRN Bill 2014 3. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Local Content) Bill Xenophon IND 2014 4. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional McKenzie NP Advocacy) Bill 2015 5. Australian Centre for Social Cohesion Bill 2015 Milne GRN 6. Boards (Gender Balanced Representation) Bill Xenophon IND 2015 Lambie IND Lazarus IND Waters GRN 7. Automotive Transformation Scheme Amendment (Securing the Rice GRN Automotive Component Industry) Bill 2015 Simms GRN 8. Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Intergenerational Report) Bill Milne GRN 2015 9. Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Above the Line Voting) Bill Xenophon IND 2013 10. Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Donations Reform) Bill 2014 Rhiannon GRN 11. Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Rhiannon GRN Measures) Bill 2016 12. Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Reducing Barriers for Minor Rhiannon GRN Parties) Bill 2014 13. Commonwealth Grants Commission Amendment (GST Distribution) Wang PUP Bill 2015 14. Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Country of Origin Milne GRN Food Labelling) Bill 2015 Xenophon IND 15. Competition and Consumer Amendment (Misuse of Market Power) Bill Xenophon IND 2014 16. Corporations Amendment (Financial Advice) Bill 2014 Whish-Wilson GRN 17. Corporations Amendment (Publish What You Pay) Bill 2014 Milne GRN 18. Criminal Code Amendment (Animal Protection) Bill 2015 Back LIB 19. Criminal Code Amendment (Harming Australians) Bill 2013 Xenophon IND 20. Criminal Code Amendment (Misrepresentation of Age to a Minor) Bill Xenophon IND 2013 21. Defence Amendment (Fair Pay for Members of the ADF) Bill 2014 Lambie IND 22. Defence Legislation Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Ludlam GRN Service) Bill 2014

44th Parliament in review 30

Short title Sponsor Party 23. Defence Legislation Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Ludlam GRN Service) Bill 2015 24. Defence Legislation Amendment (Woomera Prohibited Area) Bill 2013 Farrell ALP 25. End Cruel Cosmetics Bill 2014 Rhiannon GRN 26. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Di Natale GRN (Alpine Grazing) Bill 2014 27. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Rhiannon GRN (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research) Bill 2015 28. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Ludwig ALP Bill 2014 29. Fair Work Amendment (Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2015 Waters GRN 30. Fair Work Amendment (Penalty Rates Exemption for Small Businesses) Leyonhjelm LDP Bill 2015 Day FFP 31. Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Australian Workers) Bill 2016 Cameron ALP 32. Family Tax Benefit (Tighter Income Test) Bill 2014 Leyonhjelm LDP 33. Flags Amendment Bill 2014 Xenophon IND Madigan DLP 34. Food Standards Amendment (Fish Labelling) Bill 2015 Xenophon IND Lazarus IND Lambie IND Whish-Wilson GRN Wang PUP Madigan IND 35. Freedom of Information Amendment (Requests and Reasons) Bill 2015 Ludwig ALP 36. Freedom to Marry Bill 2014 Leyonhjelm LDP 37. Great Barrier Reef Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 Waters GRN 38. Guardian for Unaccompanied Children Bill 2014 Hanson-Young GRN 39. Higher Education Support Amendment (New Zealand Citizens) Bill Carr ALP 2015 40. Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (Improved Wright GRN Oversight and Resourcing) Bill 2014 41. Interactive Gambling and Broadcasting Amendment (Online Xenophon IND Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011 [2013] 42. International Aid (Promoting Gender Equality) Bill 2015 Rhiannon GRN 43. Landholders’ Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2013 Waters GRN 44. Landholders’ Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2015 Waters GRN 45. Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2014 Rhiannon GRN 46. Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2013 Hanson-Young GRN 47. Marriage Equality Plebiscite Bill 2015 Rice GRN Lazarus IND Leyonhjelm LDP Lambie IND Muir AMEP Xenophon IND

44th Parliament in review 31

Short title Sponsor Party 48. Migration Amendment (Free the Children) Bill 2016 Hanson-Young GRN 49. Migration Amendment (Humanitarian Visa Intake) Bill 2014 Hanson-Young GRN 50. Migration Amendment (Protecting Babies Born in Australia) Bill 2014 Hanson-Young GRN 51. Migration Amendment (Visa Maximum Numbers Determinations) Bill Hanson-Young GRN 2013 52. Mining Subsidies Legislation Amendment (Raising Revenue) Bill 2014 Milne GRN 53. Motor Vehicle Standards (Cheaper Transport) Bill 2014 Milne GRN 54. National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Tasmania) Bill Urquhart ALP 2014 55. National Integrity Commission Bill 2013 Milne GRN 56. Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill 2014 Siewert GRN 57. Parliamentary Expenses Amendment (Transparency and Xenophon IND Accountability) Bill 2015 58. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Wong ALP Amendment Bill 2015 59. Parliamentary Proceedings Broadcasting Amendment Bill 2013 Xenophon IND 60. Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2014 Singh ALP 61. Private Health Insurance Amendment (GP Services) Bill 2014 Di Natale GRN 62. Racial Discrimination Amendment Bill 2014 Day FFP Bernardi LIB Leyonhjelm LDP Smith LIB 63. Recognition of Foreign Marriages Bill 2014 Hanson-Young GRN 64. Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2014 Di Natale GRN Macdonald LIB Leyonhjelm LDP Urquhart ALP 65. Reserve Bank Amendment (Australian Reconstruction and Xenophon IND Development Board) Bill 2013 Madigan DLP 66. Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015 Leyonhjelm LDP 67. Restoring Territory Rights (Dying with Dignity) Bill 2016 Di Natale GRN Gallagher ALP 68. Save Our Sharks Bill 2014 Siewert GRN 69. Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Consumer Lease Cameron ALP Exclusion) Bill 2015 70. Social Security Amendment (Caring for People on Newstart) Bill 2014 Siewert GRN 71. Social Security Amendment (Diabetes Support) Bill 2016 Muir AMEP 72. Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Caring for Single Siewert GRN Parents) Bill 2014 73. Stop Dumping on the Great Barrier Reef Bill 2014 Waters GRN 74. Trade and Foreign Investment (Protecting the Public Interest) Bill 2014 Whish-Wilson GRN 75. Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Expanded Gold Card Access) Bill Lambie IND

44th Parliament in review 32

Short title Sponsor Party 2015 76. Voice for Animals (Independent Office of Animal Welfare) Bill 2015 Rhiannon GRN Source: Department of the Senate, StatsNet website, Private Senators’ Bill from 1901.

44th Parliament in review 33

Appendix 3: Double dissolution triggers and the Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament and related correspondence At 9:00am on 9 May 2016 the Governor-General dissolved the House of Representatives and the Senate by Proclamation. The Proclamation dissolving the 44th Parliament is attached below, along with the following related correspondence of 8 May 2016: • Prime Minister Turnbull’s advice to the Governor-General to dissolve the Parliament under section 57 of the Constitution • Attorney-General Brandis’ advice to the Governor-General regarding fulfilment of the constitutional requirements for dissolution and • the Governor-General’s acceptance of the Prime Minister’s advice. The advice of the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General cited the following bills as having satisfied the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution: • the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2] • the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2] and • the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No. 2].154 In addition to these bills, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 [No. 2] were also ‘trigger’ bills, having met the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution. These bills, however, were not cited in the advice of the Prime Minister and the Attorney- General to the Governor-General. In late March 2016 Prime Minister Turnbull had announced that the Government would retain the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.155

154. Parliament of Australia, ‘Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 homepage’; ‘Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2] homepage’; ‘Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 homepage’; ‘ Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill [No. 2] 2013 homepage’; ‘Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 homepage’; ‘Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No. 2] homepage’, Australian Parliament website. The Senate provides a listing of ‘trigger’ bills, potential ‘trigger’ bills, and bills that are no longer ‘triggers’ or potential ‘triggers’: see Parliament of Australia, ‘Bills laid aside or negatived, their history and status as possibly meeting the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution [44th Parliament—1st and 2nd sessions]’, Australian Parliament website. 155. M Turnbull (Prime Minister) and G Hunt (Minister for the Environment), Turnbull government taking strong new approaches to clean and renewable energy innovation in Australia, media release, 23 March 2016.

44th Parliament in review 34

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS by section 57 of the Constitution it is provided that if the House of Representatives passes any proposed law, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House pf Representatives simultaneously:

AND WHEREAS the conditions upon which the Governor-General is empowered by that section of the Constitution to dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously have been fulfilled in ryspect of the proposed laws intituled:

Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill2013 Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014

NOW THEREFORE I, General the Honourable Sir AK MC (Ret' d), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, do by this my proclamation dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives at 9:00 am on Monday, 9 May 2016.

Signed and sealed with mor~~ea of Australia on fflvM~ 2016

I /

L/ .//(} vemor-General /// I

Prime Minister PRIME MINISTER

Reference: MS 16-001702

8 May2016 / His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter,,/ c.eigrove AK M'et'. d) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of A~ralia Government House . 1 CANBERRA ACT 2600

Your Excellency

I am writing to advise you to exercise your power under section 57 of the Constitution to dissolve both Houses of the Parliament simultaneously with effect from 9.00 am on Monday 9th May 2016 to enable an election for both Houses to take place on Saturday 2nd July 2016.

The constitutional preconditions for a double dissolution are set out in the first paragraph of section 57 of the Constitution, which provides:

If the House of Representatives passes any proposed law, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time.

I am able to advise that all conditions for a double dissolution have been met with respect to two parcels of legislation: the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 ("ABCC Bills") and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 ("Registered Organisations Bill").

Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Telephone (02) 6277 7700 www.pm.gov.au The Senate has, on two occasions, rejected each of the ABCC Bills and the Registered Organisations Bill. The requirement in section 57 that there be an interval of at least three months between the first rejection by the Senate and the second passage by the House of Representatives has been met in respect of each of those Bills. The prohibition in the last sentence quoted above from section 57 does not apply, as the a1ssolut10n would not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives b e ux10n o time.

Fuller details of the parliamentary history of the Bills are contained in the letter from the ~ Attorney-General which accompanies this letter. The Attorney-General's letter confirms that these Bills meet the terms of section 57 and that the constitutional requirements for a double dissolution on the basis of these Bills are satisfied. /ot.J/r am providing with this letter copies of the relevant Bills, certified by the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Although the Constitution does not require it, it has been the practice of Prime Ministers in seeking previous double dissolutions to acquaint the Governor-General with the importance to the Government's program of the Bills which have been the subject of deadlock between the Houses and which satisfy the requirements of section 57.

The ABCC Bills and Registered Organisations Bill represent important elements of the Govenunent's economic plan for jobs and growth, and of its reform agenda. The ABCC Bills aim to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The Registered Organisations Bill aims to improve the governance and transparency of registered organisations.

These Bills were commitments of the Government paiiies before the 2013 election, were foreshadowed in the Governor-General's speech opening the new Parliament in November 2013, and were introduced in their current or earlier form in the Parliament in the first week of sitting. The Government has sought to secure passage of the Bills tlu·oughout the life of this Parliament.

The ABCC Bills relate to one of the largest sectors of our economy, which employs over a million Australians and is responsible for around 8 per cent of GDP. The re-establishment of the ABCC aims to improve productivity in this crucial sector, protecting and promoting employment. It would also help restore the rule of law to a sector which two Royal Commissions and many judicial decisions have found to be characterised by a culture of lawlessness which sets it apart from the rest of the economy.

The aim of the Registered Organisations Bill is to ensure that unions and employer organisations have rules of transparency and accountability similar to those that apply to corporations. The recent Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Conuption provided overwhelming evidence of the need for a new Registered Organisations Commission as "an independent stand-alone regulator", which is what the Government's legislation seeks to create. I advise that the election should take place according to the following timetable: Issueofwrits 16thMay2016 -r: ~ ~~t(f__,, Close of electoral rolls 23rd May 2016 ~ / · J ~ Close of 9th June 2016 - ~ ~ Polling day 2nd July 2016 Return of the writs (latest date) 8th August 2016

As you know, under section 12 of the Constitution, the Governors of the States issue the writs for the election of Senators for the States. Accordingly, I also advise you to request the Governors of the States to issue writs for the election of Senators in accordance with the above timetable .

.r V I I enclose for your consideration a form of proclamation relating to the dissolution of both /V({JJ Houses which, were you to accept my advice, I ask be made in sufficient time to enable the currently scheduled sitting of the Parliament on Monday 9th May not to be proceeded with.

,( 1. ,J linally, I cm_i assure Your Excellency that there is sufficient Supply for the ordinary services /V(Jl..,tll of government,tollowing the passage lastweek by both Houses of Supply Bill (No. l) 2016-2017, Supply Bill (No. 2) 2016-2017, and Supply (Parliamentmy Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017, providing for interim Supply for a sufficient period to allow the election to take place, and for the 2016-17 Budget Bills to be considered and passed by the new Parliament.

Should Your Excellency accept my advice to dissolve both Houses, I propose to make a public statement to this effect, announcing the date of the election. I ask for your consent to that course.

I also ask Your Excellencf s consent publicly to release this letter, along with the Attorney-General's letter and attached information.

Yours sincerely 8 May 2016

His Excellency General the Honourable Sir (Ret'd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth Government House Canberra ACT 2600

Your Excellency

This letter accompanies a Jetter the Prime , dated 8 16, advising to exercise your power under s 57 the Constitution simultaneously to dissolve the Senate and House of Representatives on 9 May 2016, to enable an election for to held on 2 July 2016.

I am writing to assure you that it is clear that constitutional requirements for simultaneous dissolution of both Houses of Pm·liament "'"'-r·, c,-i-, 0 r1 in respect the following bills:

• the Fair Work (Registered Organisations Bill"); and

• the Building and Construction and Building and Provisions) Bill 2013 ("ABCC Bills").

Requirements for the simultaneous dissolution of

Section 57 of the Constitution establishes a mechanism for resolution of a deadlock between the Senate and House of Representatives, It provides as

If the House of Representatives passes any proposed and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time.

Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 (02) 6277 7300 Facsimile: 6273 I 02 If after such dissolution the House of Representatives again passes the proposed law, with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate~ and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may convene a joint sitting of the members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives.

The members present at the joint sitting may deliberate and shall vote together upon the proposed law as last proposed by the House of Representatives, and upon amendments, if any, which have been made therein by one House and not agreed to by the other, and any such amendments which are affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives shall be taken to have been carried, and if the proposed law, with the amendments, if any, so carried is affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, it shall be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses of the Parliament, and shall be presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent.

The first paragraph of s 57 thus sets out four requirements that must be satisfied in order for you to exercise your power simultaneously to dissolve both Houses of Parliament:

• First, the House of Representatives must pass a proposed law, which the Senate rejects or fails to pass, or passes with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree. • Second, after an interval of three months, the House of Representatives~ in the same or next session, must again pass the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate. • Third, the Senate must again reject or fail to pass the proposed law, or pass it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree. • Fourth, simultaneous dissolution of both Houses of Parliament must not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time. •W,All four of these requirements have been satisfied m respect of both the Registered N~ Organisations Bill and the ABCC Bills. The Registered Organisations Bill

On 19 June 2014 the Registered Organisations Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives for the first time. 1 On 15 July 2014, the House made amendments to the bill and passed it, as amended. 2

On 17 July 2014 the bill was transmitted to the Senate.3 On 2 March 2015, the Senate rejected the bill by defeating the motion that the bill be read a second time. 4

Accordingly, on 2 March 2015, the first requirement of s 57 of the Constitution was satisfied.

1 House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 19 June 2014, p 585. ~ House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 15 July 2014, p 706 . ., Journals of the Senate, 17 July 2014, p 1252. 4 Journals of the Senate, 2 March 2015, p 2209. On 19 March 2015 the Registered Organisations Bill, in the same form as originally passed by the House, was introduced for a second time in the House of Representatives.) On 25 June 2015 the House passed the bill.6 By that date, an interval of over three months had elapsed since the date of the Senate's first rejection of the proposed law on 2 March 2015. This all occurred during the first session of the 44th Parliament.

Accordingly, on 25 June 2015, the second requirement of s 57 of the Constitution was satisfied. On 25 June 2015, the bill was again transmitted to the Senate. 7 On 17 August 2015 the 8 , ,.,, _r,nate again rejected the bill by defeating the motia_n that the bill be read a second.ti~e. )/e1J}!Accordingly, on 17 August 2015, the th1td reqmrement of s 57 of the Const1tut10n was satisfied. The remaining question is whether, if the dissolution were to take place (as the Prime Minister has advised you) on 9 May 2016, the fourth requirement (the six-month limitation) would be satisfied.

The current House of Representatives first met on 12 November 2013. The final day before its expiry is therefore 11 November 2016. The six month period before the expiry of the House of Representatives ( during which Your Excellency may not dissolve both Houses of Parliament) therefore commences on 12 May 2016 and terminates at the end of 11 November 2016. Therefore, the latest date upon which both Houses may be dissolved in accordance with s 57 is 11 May 2016. The fomih requirement of s 57 - that the dissolution take place outside the six-month period before the expiry by effluxion of time of the House of Representatives - is therefore satisfied.

So far as concerns the Registered Organisations Bill, therefore, the four requirements of s 57 of the Constitution are clearly satisfied.

TheABCCBills

On 14 November 2013 the ABCC Bills were introduced into the House of Representatives.9 The House passed them on 12 December 2013. 10

On 11 February 2014 the bills were transmitted to the Senate. 11 On 17 August 2015, the Senate r~jected the bill by defeating the motjon that the bjl1 be read a second time. 12

Accordingly, on 17 August 2015, the first requirement of s 57 of the Constitution was satisfied.

On 2 February 2016 the bills were introduced for a second time in the House of Representatives. 13 On 4 February, the House passed the bills. 14 By 4 February 2016, more

5 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 19 March 2015, p 1211. 6 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 25 June 2015, pp 1462-1463. 7 Journals of the Senate, 25 June 2015, pp 2842-2843. 8 Journals of the Senate, 17 August 2015, p 2963. 9 House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 14 November 2013, p 80. 10 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 12 December 2013, pp 253-254. II Journals of the Senate, 11 February 2014, p 434. p : Journals of the Senate, 17 August 2015, pp 2955-2956. :: House of Representat~ves Votes and Proceed~ngs, 2 February 2016, pp 1825-1826. · House of Representatives Votes and Proceedmgs, 4 February 2016, p 1856. than three months had elapsed since the Senate first rejected the bills, This all occurred during the first session of the 44th Parliament.

Accordingly, on 4 February 2016, the second requirement established by s 57 of the Constitution was satisfied.

Also on 4 February 2016, the bills were again transmitted to the Senate. 15

On 18 April 2016 (the day upon which Your Excellency summoned Parliament for its second session), the Senate rejected the bills by defeating the motion that the bills read a second time. 16

1 Accordingly, on 18 April 2016, the third requirement of s 57 \:\- as satisfied.

The remaining requirement (the six-month limitation) is also Bills for the reasons set out above.

So far as concerns the ABCC Bills~ therefore, the fi)Ur s of the Constitution are clearly satisfied.

In respect of both the Registered Organisations and the Bills, the constitutional grounds for you to act on the advice are established.

For completeness. I enclose a chronology of the both Bills and the Registered Organisations Bill.

Prorogation and the passage

Finally, I should briefly advert to two other matters, constitutional or other legal impediment to Your accepting the advice, and which I mention only for the of completeness.

First, the prorogation of Parliament on l 5 April 2016 did not affect the operation of s of the Constitution. In particular, did not the constitutional significance of anything that occurred during the first the decisions of the }louse of Representatives and Senate regarding letter. The immateriality of such an intcr-scssional prorogation to the operation s 57 was clearly established by the High Court in v Commonwealth Territorial Senators Case) (1975) 134 CLR 201. Second, that case also established that Your Excellency's power simultaneously to dissolve both Houses not doing so within any particular time after the Senate's second rejection of bills.

15 Jouma s enate, 4 February 2016, p 3725. 16 Journals of the Senate, 18 April 2016, p 4118. PARLIAMENTARY CONSIDERATION OF DOUBLE DISSOLUTION BILLS

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 Date Event 19 June 20141 Bill introduced in the House of Representatives Bill read a first time in the House of Representatives Second reading of the Bill moved in the House of Representatives 25 June 20142 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives 14 July 20143 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives 15 July 20144 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives House of Representatives agrees to second reading of the Bill House of Representatives adopts Government amendments to the Bill, agrees to Bill as amended House of Representatives agrees to third reading of the BHl 17 July 20145 Bill transmitted to the Senate Bill read a first time in the Senate Second reading of the Bill is moved in the Senate 11 February 2015 6 Second reading debate in the Senate 12 February 2015 7 Second reading debate in the Senate 2 March 2015 8 Second reading debate in the Senate Senate negatives second reading motion

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No 2} 19 March 20159 Bill introduced into the House of Representatives Bill read a first time in the House of Representatives Second reading of the Bill moved in the House of Representatives 14 May 2015 10 Senate refers Bill to Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee

1 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 19 June 2014, p 5 85. ~ House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 25 June 2014, p 653 . ., House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 14 July 2014, p 695. 4 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 15 July 2014, pp 704, 706. 5 Journals of the Senate, 17 July 2014, p 1252. 6 Journals of the Senate, 11 February 2015, pp 2137, 2151. 7 Journals of the Senate, 12 February 2015, p 2175. 8 Journals ofthe Senate, 2 March 2015, pp 2198, 2209. 9 House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 19 March 2015, p 121 l. 10 Journals of the Senate, 14 May 2015, p 2599. l 25 June 2015 11 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives House of Representatives agrees to second reading of the Bill Bm is read a third time in the House of Representatives 25 June 2015 12 Bill transmitted to the Senate Bill read a first time in the Senate 11 August 2015 13 Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee rep01is 17 August2015 14 Second reading of the Bill moved in the Senate Second reading debate in the Senate Senate negatives second reading of the Bill

Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 Date Event 14 November 20]3 15 Bills introduced into the House of Representatives Bills read a first time in the House of Representatives Second reading of the Bills moved in the House of Representatives 14 November 2013 16 Bills refe1Ted to Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee 2 December 2013 17 Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee rep01is 2 December 2013 18 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives 4 December 2013 19 Senate refers Bills to the Senate Education and Employment References Committee 12 December 2013 20 House of Representatives agrees to second reading of the Bills Bills read a third time in the House of Representatives 11 February 201421 Bills transmitted to the Senate Bills read a first time in the Senate Second reading of the Bills moved in the Senate

11 House ofRepresentatives Votes and Proceedings, 25 June 2015, pp 1462-1463. 12 Journals of the Senate, 25 June 2015, pp 2842-2843. 13 Journals of the Senate, 11 August 2015, p 2905. 14 Journals of the Senate, 17 August 2015, pp 2956, 2959, 2963. 15 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 14 November 2013, p 80. 16 Journals of the Senate, 14 November 2013, pp 125-127. 17 Journals ofthe Senate, 2 December 2013, p 197. 18 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 2 December 2013, pp 143, 147. 19 Journals of the Senate, 4 December 2013, p 233. 20 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 12 December 2013, pp 246,247,248, 253-254. ?J - Journals of the Senate, 11 February 2014, p 434. 2 27 March 2014-n Senate Education and Employment References Committee repo1is 4 March 201523 Second reading debate in the Senate 5 March 201524 Second reading debate in the Senate r 12 August 2015 :i Second reading debate in the Senate 17 August201526 Second reading debate in the Senate Senate negatives second reading of the Bills

Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No 2] Building and Construction lndustly (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [No

Date Event 2 February 2016-?7 Bills introduced into the House of Representatives Bills read a first time in the House of Representatives Second reading of the Bills moved in the House of Representatives 3 February 201628 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives 4 February 201629 Second reading debate in the House of Representatives House of Representatives agrees to second reading of the Bills Bills read a third time in the House of Representatives 4 February 201630 Senate refers Bills to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee Bills transmitted to the Senate Bills read a first time in the Senate Second reading of the Bills moved in the Senate 31 11 March 2016 Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee reports 32 18 April 2016 . Senate resolves to resume consideration of the Bills, pursuant to a request transmitted to it by the House of Representatives Second reading debate in the Senate Senate negatives second reading of the Bills

-?2 Journals of the Senate, 27 March 2014, p 752. 23 Journals of the Senate, 4 March 2015, pp 2240, 2252. ?4 - Journals of the Senate, 5 March 2015, pp 2263, 2264. 25 Journals of the Senate, 12 August 2015, p 2930. ?6 - Journals of the Senate, 17 August 2015, pp 2955-2956. 27 House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 2 February 2016, pp 1825-1826. !: House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 3 February 2016, pp 1845, 1847. : House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings, 4 February 2016, pp 1851-1856 . ., 0 Journals ofthe Senate, 4 February 2016, pp 3711-3712, 3725. 31 Journals of the Senate, 15 March 2016, p 3925. 32 Journals of the Senate, 18 April 2016, pp 4096-4097, 4117- 4118. 3 The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull Prime Minister Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600

When you called on me today, advising me to dissolve both necessary action to enable an election Saturday 2 July 2016.

I confirm my acceptance of your advice to dissolve both Houses of Parliament simultaneously with effect from 9:00 am on Monday 9 May and I shall issue a proclamation accordingly.

I shall today invite Governors to holding of Senate elections ·with the

In accepting your advice, I have there 1s sufficient Supply to enable Commonwealth to be carried on through the election period.

I have no objection to the public of and other attached correspondence, along with this reply. I also consent to you making a public statement matters.

Appendix 4: Conscience votes in the 44th Parliament There were no conscience votes in the House of Representatives or the Senate during the 44th Parliament. A number of same-sex marriage bills, in which Labor members of parliament were granted a conscience vote, were introduced into both Houses but none of these bills reached a vote. The bills lapsed on the prorogation and/or dissolution of the Parliament.156 In the 43rd Parliament two same-sex marriage bills in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives reached a vote.157 A summary of the same-sex marriage bills introduced in the 44th Parliament is listed below. Same-sex marriage bills introduced in the House of Representatives

Bill Sponsor Parties granted a Result conscience vote Marriage Amendment Bill Shorten (ALP, ALP removed from the Notice (Marriage Equality) Maribyrnong, Vic.) Paper in accordance with Bill 2015 Standing Order 42 on 9 February 2016 Marriage Legislation (LIB, ALP lapsed at the prorogation of Amendment Bill 2015 Leichhardt, Qld), Teresa the Parliament on 15 April Gambaro (LIB, , 2016 Qld), Terri Butler (ALP, Griffith, Qld), Laurie Ferguson (ALP, Werriwa, NSW), Adam Bandt (GRN, Melbourne, Vic.), Cathy McGowan (IND, Indi, Vic.), Andrew Wilkie (IND, Denison, Tas.) Marriage Amendment (ALP, ALP lapsed at the dissolution of (Marriage Equality) Sydney, NSW) the Parliament on 9 May Bill 2016 2016

Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library

Same-sex marriage bills introduced in the Senate

Bill Sponsor Parties granted a Result conscience vote Marriage Equality Senator Sarah ALP lapsed at the dissolution of the Amendment Bill 2013 Hanson-Young Parliament on 9 May 2016 (GRN, SA) Recognition of Foreign Senator Sarah ALP lapsed at the dissolution of the Marriages Bill 2014 Hanson-Young Parliament on 9 May 2016 (GRN, SA) Freedom to Marry Bill 2014 David ALP lapsed at prorogation of the Leyonhjelm Parliament on 15 April 2016 (LDP, NSW) Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library

156. For more details on conscience votes and same-sex marriage bills see D McKeown, Chronology of same-sex marriage bills introduced into the federal parliament: a quick guide, Research paper, 21 July 2016. 157. Ibid.

44th Parliament in review 47

Appendix 5: Floor crossings in the 44th Parliament The table below shows the number of floor crossings by senators in the 44th Parliament.158 During the 44th Parliament no members of the House of Representatives crossed the floor compared with nine in the previous parliament.159 Senator Name Issue(s) No. of floor crossings Williams, John (NP, NSW) • in support of a crossbench motion on housing 3 affordability (18 March 2015)

• in support of an Australian Greens motion calling on the Government to establish a royal commission into misconduct within the financial industry. (24 June 2016) • in support of an Australian Greens motion advocating a change in competition laws (the effects test) which would stop big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015) Bernadi, Cory (LIB, SA) • co-sponsored a crossbench motion to amend the 2 Higher Education Support Act 2003 so that the

Student Services Amenities Fee could only be levied with the support of the majority of students at each university campus in a mandatory ballot conducted once an academic year. (26 November 2015) • against an amendment to the Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2015. The amendment required that private companies with an annual income of $200 million and above disclose their tax affairs (3 December 2015) Canavan, Matthew (NP, Qld) • in support of a Family First motion on housing 2 affordability (18 March 2015)

• in support of an Australian Greens motion advocating a change in competition laws (the effects test) which would stop big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015) Abetz, Eric (LIB, Tas.) • in support of a crossbench motion to amend the 1 Higher Education Support Act so that the Student

Services Amenities Fee could only be levied with the support of the majority of students at each university campus in a mandatory ballot conducted once an academic year (26 November 2015) Back, Chris (LIB, WA) • in support of a crossbench motion on housing 1 affordability (18 March 2015)

Macdonald, Ian (LIB, Qld) • in support of a 2nd reading amendment to the 1 Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [No. 2] (9 July 2014) McKenzie, Bridget (NP, Vic.) • in support of an Australian Greens motion 1 advocating a change in competition laws (the

effects test) which would stop big business ‘abusing’ market power (15 September 2015) O’Sullivan, Barry (NP, Qld) • in support of a crossbench motion on housing 1 affordability (18 March 2015)

Source: Compiled by the Parliamentary Library

158. For more information on crossing the floor see D McKeown, R Lundie and G Baker, Crossing the floor in the federal parliament 1950 – August 2004, Research note, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 10 October 2005. 159. See The Hung Parliament, op. cit., p. 54, for more details on floor crossings in the 43rd Parliament.

44th Parliament in review 48

Appendix 6: Further reading Parliamentary Library publications Research papers Politics and Public Administration Section, The hung Commonwealth Parliament: the first year, Background note, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, October 2011. Politics and Public Administration Section, The Hung Parliament: procedural changes in the House of Representatives, Research Paper, 2013–14, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2013. S Barber, House of Representatives by-elections: 1901-2015, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 4 April 2016. H Gobbett, Parliamentary relations: political families in the Commonwealth Parliament, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 9 November 2015. H Gobbett, Indigenous parliamentarians, federal and state: a quick guide, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, updated 11 April 2016. R Lundie, 'So when is the next election?': Australian elections timetable as at 1 September 2016, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 11 December 2016. R Lundie, ‘That’s it, you’re out': disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 2013, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 11 December 2013. R Lundie, ‘That’s it, you’re out’: disorderly conduct in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 2016, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, forthcoming. J McCann, J Wilson and H Gobbett, Composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender, as at 2 July 2014, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2014. J McCann with D Heriot, Australia’s Parliament House—more than 25 years in the making! A chronology, Parliament House website, updated 3 December 2013. D McKeown, Chronology of same-sex marriage bills introduced into the federal parliament: a quick guide, Research paper, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 21 July 2016. D McKeown, R Lundie and G Baker, Crossing the floor in the federal parliament 1950 – August 2004, Research note, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 10 October 2005. FlagPosts B Holmes, ‘Use of social media by MPs in the Chamber’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 24 September 2014. S Fernandes, ‘Tweeting from the chamber’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 4 March 2013. R Lundie, The electoral fortunes of MPs who left major parties and contested the next election as Independents, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 10 May 2016. R Lundie, The disputed 2013 WA Senate election, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 20 November 2013. C Madden, Prime ministers and recent Liberal Party leadership challenges, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 15 September 2015. D Muller, So you've been prorogued - common questions answered, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 23 March 2016. D Muller, It's my party, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 10 April 2015. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure reports House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Use of electronic devices in the chamber and the federation chamber, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 24 September 2014. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Provisions for a more family-friendly Chamber, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2 December 2015.

44th Parliament in review 49

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure, Maintenance of the standing orders, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2 May 2016. Senate Procedural Information Bulletins and Standing Committee on Procedure reports Senate, ‘Prorogation and a new session of Parliament’, Procedural Information Bulletin No 303, Occasional note, The Senate, Canberra, 23 March 2016. Senate, Procedural Information Bulletin, No. 34 for sitting period 18 and 19 April 2016, The Senate, Canberra. Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, First report of 2014, The Senate, Canberra, 26 June 2014. Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, Third Report of 2015, The Senate, Canberra, 10 November 2015.

© Commonwealth of Australia

Creative Commons With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence. In essence, you are free to copy and communicate this work in its current form for all non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to the author and abide by the other licence terms. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way. Content from this publication should be attributed in the following way: Author(s), Title of publication, Series Name and No, Publisher, Date. To the extent that copyright subsists in third party quotes it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material. Inquiries regarding the licence and any use of the publication are welcome to [email protected]. This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion. Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library’s Central Enquiry Point for referral.

44th Parliament in review 50