Empowering Change: How Parliamentary Committees Shape Policy and Community Engagement - Dec 2022

As a new Independent Member of Parliament, some have said ‘what can you actually do?’. I want to let you know how I’m using the tools that I have as a Parliamentarian, guided by the issues my community cares about. Each month, I will let you know about a parliamentary tool I’m using and how it is nudging change.

What are parliamentary committees?

I currently sit on three parliamentary committees. In July I joined the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (JSCATSIA) and the House Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs (SPLA). I also recently joined the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) as its first crossbench MP.

Committees undertake inquiries into specific matters of policy or government administration and provide an opportunity for organisations and individuals to participate in policy making, through written submissions or public hearings.

At the end of their inquiries, committees present their findings and recommended Government action to the Parliament. Government then has six months to respond to the recommendations.

My committee work

I’ve just returned from the Northern Territory where I joined other members of the JSCATSIA for public hearings in Darwin and Alice Springs, on an inquiry into community safety, alcohol restrictions and other matters. We heard from a range of organisations and individuals, as well as government representatives about the complex issues that negatively affect the quality of life for Indigenous communities in the NT. Coming from Curtin, it is confronting to see the challenges faced by many and disturbing that many issues have got worse in recent years. There are no quick fixes, but we heard a range of ideas about how governments could adapt their approaches for better outcomes. We will be making recommendations to Government in due course and hopefully we can work to break the cycle of disadvantage.

Back in September, the SPLA began investigating the impact of online gambling and whether enough is being done to protect people from a potentially damaging product. So far we have received more than 120 written submissions and public hearings are being streamed online. We will make recommendations to the Government in 2023.

Next year, the JSCEM will continue an inquiry into the conduct of the 2022 federal election examining real-time disclosures of campaign donations, expenditure caps, boosting the electoral participation of First Nations peoples, and the potential for ‘truth in political advertising’ laws to enhance integrity and transparency.

Committee inquiries can seem like long, slow processes and not as controversial or interesting as Question Time. But they provide an opportunity for multi-partisan teams to dig deeper into important issues and they demonstrate that much of the work of our Parliament is more collaborative than it appears.

If you’re interested, you can watch public committee hearings online through the APH website.

As we head into the Noongar season of Birak, I wish you all the very best for a happy holiday season and hope you enjoy some time on our beautiful beaches and waterways in Curtin.