20 June 2006

Proposal to Reform the Senate Committee System

Two new Senate committees would be established and unnecessary duplication between paired committees would be removed under a proposal announced today by the Government Senate Leadership team.

The Senate Committee system has continually evolved since its creation in 1970. Under the current structure, which was established in 1994, Senate committees cover 8 portfolio areas, with each portfolio area having two paired committees – a legislation committee and a references committee.

There is no longer any good reason for this duplication – the paired committees share the same policy portfolios, the same secretariats and many of the same members.

Merging the paired committees will allow an expansion of the portfolios covered from 8 to 10 portfolios and will result in greater attention being paid to the issues that matter to the Australian people. The Government proposes that Education, Science and Training, and Environment and Heritage, become stand alone committees, but will consult with Senators and Senate parties on the final portfolio split.

This proposal reflects the pre-1994 Senate Committee structure, but with additional committees for a more specific focus on certain subject areas.

The membership of the committees will also be expanded and the Government will ask the Remuneration Tribunal to consider the payment of Deputy Chairs, in recognition of the increased workload under the new merged system.

The Government continues to support the Senate's role as the house of review. Since 1 July 2005, the Government has supported the referral of 14 issues (references) and 71 Bills (legislation) to Senate committees. This proposal would not affect the number of bills and issues referred to Senate committees and the operation of Senate Estimates will remain unchanged.

The membership and chairmanship of the committees will reflect the composition of the Senate.

The Government's Senate Leadership team put the proposals to all party leaders today with a view to ongoing consultation over the July recess and implementation in the sitting weeks in August.