Joint meetings of the Australian Parliament
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A joint meeting of the Australian Parliament is a convening of members of the Senate and House of Representatives sitting together as a single legislative body. Australia has a bicameral
federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...
, consisting of the Senate and the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. Subject to the Constitution of Australia, each House has its own rules, standing orders and procedures; its own presiding officer; and meets separately, at dates and times it alone decides. However, there are some occasions when the two Houses have come together as a single body.


Reasons for joint meetings

The reasons for joint meetings have included: * to resolve deadlocks between the Houses following a double dissolution * to fill casual vacancies in the representation of the
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
in the Senate * a special commemorative joint sitting to celebrate the Centenary of Federation * secret meetings to discuss security-related issues, such as Australia's participation in war * to receive addresses by invited guests such as visiting foreign heads of state or government.


Resolving deadlocks between the two Houses

The Constitution makes provision for a joint sitting as part of a procedure to resolve legislative deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Section 57 provides that, under certain circumstances where there is a deadlock over a bill, both houses may be dissolved in a double dissolution. This is followed by a general election, and the bill may be put to the separate Houses of the newly elected parliament for reconsideration. If this still fails to resolve the deadlock, the bill may be considered by a joint sitting, convened as a single legislative body. If passed by the joint sitting, the bill will be treated for all purposes as if it had been separately passed by the two Houses. The only time such a joint sitting has occurred was on 6–7 August 1974.


Casual vacancies in the representation of the Territories in the Senate

Between 1980 and 1989 when the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
(ACT) gained self-government, the choice of a replacement ACT senator to fill a
casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...
was made by a joint sitting of both Houses. This occurred twice: * Margaret Reid was elected on 5 May 1981 to replace the deceased ACT Senator John Knight *
Bob McMullan Robert Francis McMullan (born 10 December 1947) is an Australian former politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He was the first person to represent the Australian Capital Ter ...
was elected on 16 February 1988 to replace former ACT Senator
Susan Ryan Susan Maree Ryan (10 October 194227 September 2020) was an Australian politician and public servant. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Hawke Government as Minister Assisting the Prime Mini ...
, who had resigned. Casual vacancies for ACT senators are now filled by the ACT Legislative Assembly, under Section 44 of the ''Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918''. A joint sitting of the federal parliament would still be used to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of any external territory, in the event that such a territory ever gains separate Senate representation.


Special commemorative joint sitting

On 9 May 2001, the Parliament met in a special joint sitting at the site of the 1st Parliament, the
Royal Exhibition Building The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage-listed building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1879–1880 as part of the international exhibition movement, which presented over 50 exhibitions between 1851 and 1915 around the glo ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, to commemorate the Centenary of that event specifically, and the Centenary of Federation more generally. The joint sitting was addressed by the Governor-General, Sir
William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 19 ...
.


Secret meetings

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Parliament met in secret on a number of occasions, to hear confidential reports on the progress of the war. There is no Hansard record of the proceedings. Both Houses met in secret joint sittings on 20 February 1942, 3 September 1942, and 8 October 1942. The House of Representatives met in secret on 13 December 1940, 29 May 1941, and 20 August 1941. General Douglas MacArthur is sometimes reported to have addressed the Parliament during World War II. If he addressed the secret joint sittings, this was not officially recorded. However, General MacArthur was provided with a seat on the floor of the House of Representatives on 26 March 1942, and addressed members of Parliament from outside the chamber later that day.


Addresses by invited guests

The first address by an invited guest to the Parliament in a formally convened joint sitting of which there was an official record was on 2 January 1992, by the US President, George H. W. Bush. Later addresses to joint sittings were from US presidents
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
(1996) and
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
(2003); and paramount leader of China Hu Jintao (2003). (George W. Bush's and Hu Jintao's addresses occurred on consecutive days in October 2003.)Timothy Kendall, Australian Parliamentary Library, Within China’s Orbit?: China Through the Eyes of the Australian Parliament; Chapter Three: Foreign Policy and Identity Stuff: Hu Jintao Addresses the Australian Parliament
Subsequently, the Senate Standing Committee on Procedure and the Senate Standing Committee of Privileges both recommended that the practice of formally convening a joint sitting for these purposes be discontinued, as they had no constitutional authority, and there were doubts about the validity of the presiding officer of one house giving instructions to members of the other house. On 2 March 2006, it was agreed that future addresses by invited dignitaries would be to a meeting of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
only, but to which the members of the Senate would be invited as guests.


List of addresses

* Source
Australia's Parliament House—more than 25 years in the making! A chronology


References

{{Parliament of Australia Parliament of Australia Australia