8.7 Private Members Bills
In addition to Ministers, other Members of Parliament have the opportunity to introduce Bills and have them debated in the Legislative Assembly. These Bills are known as Private Members' Bills.
Once a Private Members' Bill is introduced in the Legislative Assembly, and if the question for the first reading of the Bill succeeds, the Bill will be referred to a Portfolio Committee which will have up to six months to examine the Bill and report back to Parliament.
Following the introduction of the Bill, the Premier and the Leader of the House will identify which Minister is to take portfolio lead in responding to the proposed legislation. The lead Minister will coordinate consultation with other Ministers with portfolio interests in the proposed legislation.
The lead Minister is required to prepare a submission to respond to the Bill for Cabinet's consideration. This must occur prior to debate commencing on the Private Member’s Bill, and should be completed within six weeks of the tabling of the associated committee report. The submission must address the policy matter of the Bill from the government's perspective and recommend support, amendment or opposition to the Bill on the floor of the House.
Specifically, the submission must:
- state the nature of the Bill
- analyse the Bill's consistency with government policy generally
- give detailed legal policy analysis (including consistency with other laws and internal consistency)
- state the Bill's financial and other impacts.
The Committee report must be taken into consideration when preparing the Submission, and should also attach a response to any recommendations in the Committee report that are specifically directed to government. After consideration by Cabinet, the lead Minister will draw the matter to the attention of Caucus.
Following the tabling of the portfolio committee report, the Bill will be set down on the notice paper for its second reading stage in the Parliament. Under Standing Orders, the minimum timeframe between the tabling of the portfolio committee report and the commencement of the second reading debate is three calendar months. However, debate can occur earlier than this should there be agreement to do so.