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79.Official Report

1. A copy of the record of a Member's speech on any matter shall be sent to him for correction before it is published. Corrections shall be limited to points of minor grammatical error and no corrections which alter the meaning, emphasis or substance of the Member's speech shall be made. If such copy is not received from the Member within fourteen clear days from the date of despatch thereto, the speech shall be published without correction.

2. If a Member disputes the correctness of the record of his speech when published, the Speaker shall rule thereon and such ruling shall be final.

3. An official report of the proceedings of the House and of a committee of the whole House, which shall be as nearly as possible verbatim, shall be prepared under the direction of the Secretary-General. The report shall be published and a copy thereof shall be sent to each Member as soon as is practicable.

1. Members of the public and of the Press shall be admitted to sittings of the House and the Speaker may from time to time make such rules as he thinks fit for this purpose. The Secretary-General shall ensure that such rules are complied with.

2. The Speaker or Chairman may at anytime order strangers to withdraw from the House.

The Secretary-General shall ensure that the House's Orders with regard to proper conduct and behaviour are carried out on all occasions. The staff responsible for order in the Chamber may be given such other duties as the Secretary-General, after consultation with the Speaker may, from time to time, decide.

82.Seniority of Members

The seniority of Members of the House in the House shall be as follows:

1. The Prime Minister,

2. Cabinet Ministers in order of appointment,

3. The Leader of the Opposition,

4. Assistant Ministers in an order to be decided by the Prime Minister

5. Members of the House on the Government benches in order determined first by the length of service as a member and upon equality of such service in alphabetical order, or otherwise as may be determined by the Speaker

6. Members of the House on the Opposition benches in order determined first by the length of service as a Member and upon equality of such service, in alphabetical order, or otherwise as may be determined by the Speaker.

1. Members shall be appropriately dressed; in the case of male Members with coats and tie, except where, with the prior permission of the Speaker, coats may be removed.

2. All Members shall enter, leave and behave in the House with decorum.

3. A Member entering and leaving the Chamber shall acknowledge the Chair;

4. A Member shall not pass between the Chair and a Member who is speaking and on entering or leaving the Chamber of the House shall do so by the nearest door to his seat so that he may not cross the floor of the Chamber unnecessarily;

5. A Member shall not leave the House while the Speaker is speaking;

6. Members shall not read newspapers, books, letters or other documents except such matters therein as may be directly connected with the business;

7. No Member shall smoke in the Chamber;

8. No Member shall chew gum and eat in the Chamber;

9. Members shall ensure that personal electronic communication devices such as vodaphones, beepers, etc are switched off when entering the Chamber.

10. A Member shall not interrupt any Member who is speaking by any disorderly expression or remarks, running commentary or in any other disorderly manner.

The control and administration of the whole of the parliamentary grounds and the buildings and other improvements thereon shall be vested in the Speaker on behalf of the House, whether Parliament is in session or otherwise.

85. Procedure in Cases of Doubt

In cases of doubt, these Standing Orders shall be interpreted in accordance with the relevant practice in Parliaments elsewhere, as determined by the Speaker on the advice of the Business Committee.

Passed by the House of Representatives this twenty-fifth day of July 1996.

Secretary-General

Speaker of the House of Representatives