Committees

There are many issues that come up in Parliament, such as economic, social, health and environmental issues – and more.  It is very difficult to be an expert in all these areas.  The Parliament has a system of Committees to help do several things:

1. Create sets of Members with expertise on different issues
2. Spread out the workload of the Parliament
3. Scrutinise the Government
4. Come up with ideas for new laws

The structure of some committees is set out in law, and the structure of others is decided by the Houses of Parliament.

These are the different types of Committees.

Standing Committees	– Permanent – they continue to exist after an election, the Members who work on the Committee simply change over. – Created under the law – Parliamentary Committees Act 1991 – The Committees have members from one House of Parliament, or both Houses.  This depends on what is said in the law. – They get their work by deciding to do work themselves, or if a House of Parliament tells them to look into something.  – They can also be given directions by the Governor. There are currently 10 Standing Committees.
Select Committees	– Temporary – they investigate a specific issue and then the Committee finishes up after they report. – They are set up by one House of Parliament – so if it is set up in the House of Assembly all of the Members on the Committee will be from the House of Assembly.
Joint Committees	– These are very similar to select committees, except they have Members from BOTH Houses of Parliament.
Sessional Committees	– These exist until the end of a session of Parliament.  – They do administrative work.

This chart can help you compare the difference:

Committee Type	Lifespan	Created By	Work Comes From	Members on the Committee
Standing	Permanent	Law	– Self directed – From the Houses – From the Governor	Set out in the law
Select	Committee finishes when the report is complete	Decision of the House	From the House	Members come from one House only
Joint	Committee finishes when the report is complete	Decision of the Houses	From the Houses	Members come from both Houses
Sessional	A session of Parliament	– Decision of the Houses – Standing Orders (the rules of the Houses)	From the Houses	Members come from one House only

Here is a list of the Standing Committees:

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