PART V-BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

21. Order of Business

  1. The business of each day shall be transacted in the following order:
    1. The Prayer;

    2. Administration of Oath or Affirmation;

    3. Confirmation of Minutes;

    4. Presentation of petitions;

    5. Presentation of papers by laying on the Table;

    6. Presentation of Reports of Committees by laying on the Table;

    7. Questions;

    8. Communication from the Chair;

    9. Statements by Ministers;

    10. Adjournment motions on specific and important matter which should have urgent consideration;

    11. Raising of matters of privilege;

    12. Personal Explanation

    13. Misquotation of words used in debate;

    14. First Reading of Bills;

    15. Motions relating to sittings and business moved by Members of the Business Committee;

    16. Motions, including later stages of Bills, of which notice has been given;

    17. Other public business in the order set out on the Order Paper.

  2. Public business is that contained in items (n) to (q) of the preceding paragraph and for the purpose of this Order.
    1. Government business means proceedings or motions of which notice has been given by, and on Bills in the charge of, Ministers.

    2. Private Members' business means proceedings on motions, including motions for leave to introduce a Bill, of which notice has been given by, and on Bills in the charge of Members other than Ministers

  3. Government business shall be set down on the Order Paper in such order as the Government may direct and shall have precedence over other public business on every day except Friday.

  4. Private Members' business shall beset down on the Order Paper in such order as the Business Committee shall determine and shall have precedence over other public business on Fridays.

22.Adjournment of the House

  1. A motion for the adjournment of the House shall be moved by the Leader of the House at the conclusion of business on every Friday on which the House is sitting or at the end of every meeting when notices of adjournment motions have been given.

  2. On any Friday or on the final day of any meeting one hour shall be allowed for the debate on motions for the adjournment, of which thirty minutes shall be allowed for the Minister or Ministers to reply

  3. The Secretary-General shall notify not more than three Members that they will be speaking on their adjournment motions on Friday or on the final day of any meeting. The right to speak shall be determined in the order in which notice of motions are received by the Secretary-General.

23.Rules of Debate on Adjournment Motions

  1. A Member shall not revive discussion of a matter which has been discussed and disposed of within six (6) calendar months.

  2. A Member shall not anticipate a matter which has been previously appointed for the consideration of the House or with reference to which a notice of motion has previously been given;

  3. A Member shall not raise a question of privilege;

  4. Except with the leave of the Speaker, a Member shall not address the House for more than ten minutes;

  5. No matter shall be raised unless at least twenty-four hours prior notice in writing has been given to the Secretary-General, specifying that it will be raised on the Adjournment.

24.Adjournment motions on specific and important matter which should have urgent consideration

  1. A Member may rise in his place at the time appointed under Standing Order 21 and ask for leave to move the adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific matter which should have urgent consideration. No speech shall be allowed.

  2. Before the commencement of the sitting, the matter for discussion shall be reduced to writing and handed to the Secretary-General

  3. If the Speaker is satisfied that the matter raised is proper to be so discussed and either:

    1. leave of the House is given; or

    2. if such leave is not given, at least fifteen Members rise in their places to support the request, the motion shall stand over until a date and time to be fixed by the Speaker and at that time any proceeding on which the House is engaged shall be postponed until the motion for the adjournment which shall require seconding is disposed of.

  4. Motions pursuant to this Order shall be debated for a period not exceeding two hours.

25.Minutes of Proceedings

  1. The Minutes of the previous sitting shall be confirmed or amended as the case may be at the time appointed under Standing Order 21.

  2. The Minutes of a final sitting of any session may, unless the House shall otherwise decide, be confirmed at the first sitting of the following session.

  3. The Minutes of the final sitting of the session before a General Elections may, unless the House shall otherwise decide, be confirmed within the hour before the House adjourns sine die

  4. No debate shall be allowed upon the Minutes except as to any proposed amendment or as to the accuracy thereof.

26.Business for which the Recommendation of the Cabinet is required

  1. Except on the recommendation of the Cabinet, the House of Representatives shall not:

    1. proceed upon any Bill, including any amendment to a Bill, which in the opinion of the Speaker, makes provision for any of the following purposes:

      1. the imposition of the taxation or the alteration of taxation otherwise than by reduction;

      2. the imposition of any charge upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of Fiji or the alteration of any such charge otherwise than by reduction;

      3. the payment, issue or withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of Fiji of any moneys not charged thereon or any increase in the amount of such payment, issue or withdrawal;

      4. the composition or remission of any debt to the Government.

      5. any guarantee which would create a contingent liability to pay, in certain circumstances, from the Consolidated Fund.

    2. proceed upon any motion, including any amendment to a motion, the effect of which, in the opinion of the Speaker, is that provision would be made for any of. the purposes aforesaid.

  2. The recommendation of the Cabinet shall be signified by a Minister:

    1. in the case of a Bill, on the introduction thereof; or

    2. in the case of a motion or an amendment, including a statutory amendment to a Bill on the mover being called to move that motion or amendment.

  3. The signification of the recommendation of the Cabinet shall be recorded, together with the Minister's name, in the Minutes of proceedings.

27.Presentation of Petitions

  1. A petition maybe presented to the House after two days' notice by any Member who shall be responsible for endorsing upon it a certificate signed by him stating that in his opinion the petition is perfectly respectful and deserving of presentation.

  2. Every petition shall be in the English, Fijian or Hindustani language provided that if they are in Fijian or Hindustani they shall be accompanied by an English translation.

  3. Every petition shall be scrutinised by the Speaker to ensure that it conforms with the rules and practice of the House and, in particular, that it is seeking action which lies within the powers of the House to take.

  4. A Member presenting a petition to the House shall confine himself to a brief statement of the person from whom the petition comes, the number of signatures attached thereto and the purport of the prayer of the petition. On conclusion he shall lay the petition upon the Table.

  5. On the presentation of a petition no debate thereon or relating thereto shall be allowed but any Member may move without debate that the petition be read by the Secretary-General. If such a motion is seconded again without debate, and agreed, the Secretary-General shall read the petition or the translation thereof.

  6. Any Member may move and if seconded, that a petition which has been read in the House shall be referred to a Select Committee, and the question thereon shall be put without amendment or debate.

  7. The House shall not receive or consider

    1. Any petition (other than a petition for a private bill) from a person who has not exhausted his legal remedies and who has not made application to an Ombudsman where the subject matter of the prayer of such petition is one within the competency of the Ombudsman:

    2. Any petition upon the same subject matter as an earlier petition which has been finally dealt with by the House during the term of that Parliament, unless substantial and material new evidence is available that was not available when the earlier petition was considered.

    28.Presentation of Papers and Documents

    1. A paper may be presented to the House only by a Minister who shall lay it upon the Table.

    2. Papers may be ordered to be laid before the House, and the Secretary-General shall communicate to the Minister concerned all orders for papers made by the House; and such papers shall be laid on the Table by the Minister

    3. All papers and documents presented to the House shall be considered public.

    4. A document relating to public affairs quoted from by a Minister, unless stated to be of a confidential nature shall, if required by any Members, be laid on the Table.

    5. On any paper being presented to the House a Member may move without notice that the House takes note of the paper, provided that if the motion is not moved at the time of the presentation of the paper, it may be moved, on notice, on a subsequent date

    29.Nature of Questions

    A Member who is not a Minister may address a question to the Government relating to a public matter for which the Government is officially responsible, in which lie seeks information on that matter or asks for official action. These questions shall be designated either for oral answer in the House or for written answer.

    30.Notice of Questions

    1. Any Member desiring to ask a question shall, except in cases of emergency and with the leave of the Speaker, give notice thereof by delivering a copy of it in writing to the Secretary-General at least four clear days, exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays, before the day on which lie intends to ask the question.

    2. If a Member wishes to ask a question orally he shall mark his notice with the word "oral" and state the day on which he wants to ask it. The question shall be put on the Order Paper on the day stated if the House is then sitting.

    3. If a Member asks the permission of the Speaker to ask a question for oral answer without notice on the ground that it is of an urgent character and relates to a matter of a public importance or to the arrangements of business, the Speaker may permit the question to be asked without notice if he is satisfied that it is of that nature, and that sufficient private notice of the question has been or is to be given by the Member concerned to the Government to enable the question to be answered.

    31.Contents of Questions

    1. The interpretation of the following rules shall be made by the Speaker whose decision shall be final:

      1. Not more than one subject shall be referred to in any one question and a question shall not be of excessive length.

      2. A question shall not contain the names of persons or statements not strictly necessary to make the question intelligible.

      3. If a question contains a statement, the Member asking it shall make himself responsible for the accuracy of the statement.

      4. A question shall not contain any argument, inference, imputation, epithet or tendentious, ironical or offensive expressions.

      5. A question shall not refer to any debate that has occurred or answer that has been given during the last six months.

      6. A question shall not be asked about proceedings in a committee before that committee has made its report to the House.

      7. A question shall not be asked for the purpose of obtaining an expression of opinion, the solution of an abstract case or the answer to a hypothetical proposition.

      8. A question shall not be asked about the character or conduct of any person except in his official or public capacity.

      9. A question shall not be asked which reflects on the character or conduct of any person whose conduct can only be challenged on a substantive motion.

      10. A question fully answered shall not be asked again within six months.

      11. A question shall not seek information about a matter which in the opinion of the Speaker is secret in nature or highly confidential.

      12. A question shall not refer to any matter on which a judicial decision is pending or reflect on the decision of a court of law, pursuant to Standing Order 34 (8).

      13. A question shall not be asked as to whether statements in the press or of private individuals or private concerns are accurate.

      14. A question shall not be asked seeking information which can be found in accessible documents or ordinary works of reference.

      15. A question relating to a matter of policy, or referring to an act or omission of an act on the part of the Minister, or which raises a matter of public interest, with regard to questions regarding public undertakings, co-perative societies, autonomous bodies such as the University, quasi-Government institutions and companies, in which the Government has invested money, is admissible.

    2. If the Speaker is of the opinion that a question of which a Member has given notice to the Secretary-General, or which a Member has sought to ask without notice, infringes any of the provisions of this Order or the two preceding Standing Orders he shall direct:

      1. that it be placed on the Order Paper with such alterations as he may direct; or

      2. in the case of a question which a Member has sought to ask without notice that it may be so asked with such alterations as he may direct; or

      3. that the Member concerned be informed that the question is out I of order.

    3. Disallowance or amendment of a question by the Speaker, with the reason thereof, shall be communicated by the Secretary-General to the Member concerned.

    32.Asking and Answering Questions

    1. Every question in respect of which a Member has given due notice under Standing Order 30 shall be put on the Order Paper. for the day or, which the Member has indicated that he wishes to ask the question.

    2. The questions to be asked on each sitting day shall be placed on the Order Paper by the Secretary-General in the order in which notice was received by him. When a Member has given notice of several questions at the same time, the order shall be as indicated by the Member.

    3. When the time of asking questions shall have arrived the Secretary-General shall call upon the Member in whose name the question appears on the Order Paper. In the case of a question for an oral answer the Member shall then rise in his place to ask the question whereupon the Minister shall answer it. In the case of a question for a written reply the Member so called upon shall ask the question by referring only to its number on the Order Paper in which case the Minister shall Jay the answer on the Table. A copy of the reply shall be supplied to the Member who has asked the question, and the question and reply shall be printed in Hansard.

    4. If a Member is not present to ask his question, that question is deemed to have lapsed.

    5. A Member may postpone his question provided he gives three clear days' notice of his intention to the Secretary-General and also indicates the date on which he wishes the question answered.

    6. A Member may, at the discretion of the Speaker, ask a supplementary question or questions for the purpose of further elucidating any matter of fact arising out of an oral answer given; but such supplementary questions shall not raise any new matter.

    7. provided that the Speaker shall disallow any supplementary question if, in his opinion, it infringes any of the Standing Orders relating to the admissibility of questions and in that case the supplementary question shall not appear in the Minutes of the House or in any report of its proceedings.

    8. An answer shall be relevant to the question.

    33.Statements by Ministers

    1. A Minister who wishes to make a statement on some public matter of national importance shall inform the Speaker before the beginning of the sitting at which he wishes to make the statement.

    2. No debate may arise on such statement but questions from Members may be allowed for the purpose of elucidating the statement.

    3. The Leader of the Opposition if he so wishes shall have five minutes in which to make his observation.

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