The increase and reduction of Senate committees
1. In the 1970s, reforms were implemented establishing standing committees (permanent committees),and giving the Senate greatly enhanced power and the ability for senators to develop expertise. In the 1980s the Senate adopted the regular, systematic process ofreferring bills to committees automatically, increasing its legislative oversight.
2. In 2006, the Howard Liberal-National Government cut the number of Senate committees from 16 to 10. Rules were also changed to ensure the chairperson of every committee wasa member of the executive government.
3. Arguments for the 2006 reforms to the Senate committee system include:
- the Government said the reforms were designed to remove inefficiencies, such as overlap and committee members being stretched thinly
- the Government suggested that there would be more references and inquiries as a result of the changes
Arguments against the 2006 reforms to the Senate committee system include:
- if the Government does control the Senate, it may be able to suppress any committee inquiries that are embarrassing or inconvenient
- the committee system can uncover government scandals
4. In 2009, the Senate was permitted to raise select committees again.
5. Students should be able to make a number of comments on the impact of the party membership of a chairperson on committees. For example, they might note that a Government chairperson is likely to support Government-initiated bills and may limit scrutiny of the bill.