The Federal Parliamentary Committee examining the future of petitioning in the House will commence its public hearing program in Canberra this week. The Committee will be hearing evidence from the Petitions Committees of the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
The Chair of the Petitions Committee, Lucy Wicks MP, said Australia can learn a lot from the different approaches to petitions taken by our international colleagues.
"The UK Petitions Committee, for example, can schedule a debate on a petition in Westminster Hall and the Scottish Petitions Committee can choose to carry out a formal inquiry in relation to a petition," Mrs Wicks said.
"The public hearings will provide the Committee with an opportunity to gain insight into international experiences of the petitioning process. It will also allow the Committee to consider how these experiences could be applied in Australia, further strengthening an integral part of our democratic process."
