Do petitions have to be tabled in Parliament once they are given to a member?
Petition presented in the Australian Senate to stop tariff cuts.
The Department of the Senate
Petition presented in the Australian Senate to stop tariff cuts.
The Department of the Senate
Description
This is a photo of the back of a white dinner jacket which has been written on in black marker. The writing says:
‘PETITION TO STOP TARIFF CUTS To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament Assembled. We, the undersigned, including workers in the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Industries in the Federal Electorate of Wills, request that the Government: 1. Puts an immediate stop to TCF tariff cuts. 2. Calls a meeting of TCF employees & unions to identify specific products which need increased tariff protection and implement this. 3. Extends these measures to other industries.’
This is followed by a table with the following headings: Name, Address and Signature. The signatures have been blurred out.
Thank you for asking about petitions which are an important way citizens can ask the Australian Parliament to help them with a problem.
Petitions can be addressed to either the Senate or the House of Representatives. However, there are different rules for petitioning the Senate or House. A petition must meet certain criteria - rules - before it can be brought before the Parliament. When presented with a petition that meets the criteria, a senator or member of the House of Representatives accepts it regardless of whether they agree with the topic.
When a petition is brought before either the Senate or the House of Representatives it is said to be 'tabled'. This means the petition is physically placed on the central table of that house. It also means the petition is now part of the official records.
In the House of Representatives a petition can be addressed to the Standing Committee on Petitions or a member of the House of Representatives. Either the Standing Committee Chairperson or the member will bring the petition before the House of Representatives.
In the Senate, a petition must be forwarded to a senator to be presented to the Senate. The petition is then given to the Clerk who brings the petition before the Senate.