Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment Act 1996 (Qld)

Queensland PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1996 Act No. 2 of 1996

Queensland PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1996 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 PART 2—AMENDMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES ACT 1995 2 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Insertion of new ss 4A and 4B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4A Membership of statutory committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4B Quorum and voting at meetings of statutory committees . . . . . . . . . 5 4 Amendment of s 6 (Application of Act to committees established by Assembly etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 Amendment of s 20 (Areas of responsibility of Public Works Committee) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 Replacement of s 25 (Powers to call for persons etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 25 Power to call for persons etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 Amendment of s 26 (Privilege against self-incrimination) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8 Replacement of s 37 (Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee to take over unfinished issues from Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 37 Criminal Justice Committee to take over certain unfinished issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PART 3—AMENDMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1989 9 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 10 Amendment of s 3 (Definitions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 11 Insertion of new ss 115–117 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 115 Establishment of parliamentary committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 116 Membership of parliamentary committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 117 Quorum and voting at meetings of parliamentary committee . . . . . 8 PART 4—AMENDMENT OF ELECTORAL ACT 1992 12 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 13 Amendment of s 7 (Establishment of Electoral Commission of Queensland etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 14 Amendment of s 23 (Terms and conditions of appointment etc.) . . . . . . . . 9

Queensland Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment Act 1996 Act No. 2 of 1996 An Act to amend the ParliamentaryCommitteesAct1995 , and for other purposes [Assented to 24 April 1996]

s1 4 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment The Parliament of Queensland enacts— s3 No. 2, 1996 PART 1—PRELIMINARY ˙ Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment Act 1996 . PART 2—AMENDMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES ACT 1995 ˙ Act amended in pt 2 2. This part amends the Parliamentary Committees Act 1995 . ˙ Insertion of new ss 4A and 4B 3. After section 4— insert— ˙ ‘ Membership of statutory committees ‘ 4A.(1) A statutory committee must consist of an equal number of members nominated by— (a) the member who is recognised in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the House; and (b) the member who is recognised in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the Opposition. ‘ (2) The chairperson of a statutory committee must be the member nominated as chairperson by the member mentioned in subsection (1)(a).

s4 5 s6 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 ˙ ‘ Quorum and voting at meetings of statutory committees ‘ 4B. At a meeting of a statutory committee— (a) a quorum consists of half the number of members appointed to the committee plus 1; and (b) a question is decided by a majority of the votes of the members of the committee present and voting; and (c) each member of the committee has a vote on each question to be decided and, if the votes are equal, the chairperson of the committee has a casting vote. Example of paragraph (a)— If 6 members are appointed to a statutory committee, the quorum is 4 (half the number of members (3) plus 1). ’. ˙ Amendment of s 6 (Application of Act to committees established by Assembly etc.) 4. Section 6(3)— omit, insert— ‘ (3) This Act (other than section 26) does not apply to the Criminal Justice Committee.’. ˙ Amendment of s 20 (Areas of responsibility of Public Works Committee) 5. Section 20(1)(b)— omit, insert— ‘(b) any major GOC work if the committee decides to consider the work.’. ˙ Replacement of s 25 (Powers to call for persons etc.) 6. Section 25— omit, insert—

s7 6 s8 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 ˙ ‘ Power to call for persons etc. ‘ 25. A statutory committee is, by this section, authorised to call for persons, documents and other things.’. ˙ Amendment of s 26 (Privilege against self-incrimination) 7. Section 26(1)— omit, insert— ‘ 26.(1) This section applies to a statutory committee, or another committee of the Legislative Assembly authorised by the Assembly or an Act to call for persons, documents and other things.’. ˙ Replacement of s 37 (Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee to take over unfinished issues from Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee) 8. Section 37— omit, insert— ˙ ‘ Criminal Justice Committee to take over certain unfinished issues ‘ 37.(1) This section applies if the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee has not tabled a report about an issue that it started considering and— (a) the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee had previously started to consider, but not tabled a report, about the issue; or (b) the issue is otherwise within the functions of the Criminal Justice Committee. ‘ (2) The Criminal Justice Committee may deal with the issue as if it had exclusively dealt with the issue from the beginning.’

s 9 7 s 11 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 PART 3—AMENDMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1989 ˙ Act amended in pt 3 9. This part amends the Criminal Justice Act 1989 . ˙ Amendment of s 3 (Definitions) 10. Section 3, definition “parliamentary committee” — omit, insert— ‘ “parliamentary committee” means the Criminal Justice Committee of the Legislative Assembly.’. ˙ Insertion of new ss 115–117 11. Part 4, before section 118— insert— ˙ ‘ Establishment of parliamentary committee ‘ 115. A committee of the Legislative Assembly called the Criminal Justice Committee is established. ˙ ‘ Membership of parliamentary committee ‘ 116.(1) The parliamentary committee must consist of an equal number of members nominated by— (a) the member who is recognised in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the House; and (b) the member who is recognised in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the Opposition. ‘ (2) The chairperson of the parliamentary committee must be the member nominated as chairperson by the member mentioned in subsection (1)(a).

s 12 8 s 13 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 ˙ ‘ Quorum and voting at meetings of parliamentary committee ‘ 117. At a meeting of the parliamentary committee— (a) a quorum consists of half the number of members appointed to the committee plus 1; and (b) a question is decided by a majority of the votes of the members of the committee present and voting; and (c) each member of the committee has a vote on each question to be decided and, if the votes are equal, the chairperson of the committee has a casting vote. Example of paragraph (a)— If 6 members are appointed to the parliamentary committee, the quorum is 4 (half the number of members (3) plus 1). ’. PART 4—AMENDMENT OF ELECTORAL ACT 1992 ˙ Act amended in pt 4 12. This part amends the Electoral Act 1992 . ˙ Amendment of s 7 (Establishment of Electoral Commission of Queensland etc.) 13. Section 7(7)— omit, insert— ‘ (7) A person may be appointed as the chairperson or nonjudicial appointee only if the Minister has consulted— (a) with each member of the Legislative Assembly recognised as the leader of a political party represented in the Assembly about the proposed appointment; and (b) with the parliamentary committee about— (i) the process of selection for appointment; and

s 14 9 s 14 Parliamentary Committees Legislation Amendment No. 2, 1996 (ii) the appointment of the person as the chairperson or nonjudicial appointee.’. ˙ Amendment of s 23 (Terms and conditions of appointment etc.) 14. Section 23(2)— omit, insert— ‘ (2) A person may be appointed as a senior electoral officer only if— (a) press advertisements have been placed nationally calling for applications from suitably qualified persons to be considered for appointment; and (b) the Minister has consulted— (i) with each member of the Legislative Assembly recognised as the leader of a political party represented in the Assembly about the proposed appointment; and (ii) with the parliamentary committee about— (A) the process of selection for appointment; and (B) the appointment of the person as the senior electoral officer.’. © State of Queensland 1996