How long did the shortest sitting go for?
The Senate
DPS AUSPIC
The Senate
DPS AUSPIC
Description
The Senate is a large room with red furnishings. The seats and desks are arranged in rows in a U-shape around a large central table. There are 3 large chairs at the open end of the U-shaped seats that are elevated above the other chairs. The President of the Senate sits in one of these chairs. Senators sit in the U-shaped seats. Members of the public and the press sit observing from the balconies above the Senate
Permission should be sought from DPS AUSPIC for third-party or commercial uses of this image. To contact DPS AUSPIC email: auspic@aph.gov.au or phone: 02 6277 3342.
Thanks for your question! Each sitting day, senators and members of House of Representatives meet to conduct the business of Parliament. These meetings or sittings usually run continuously for 7 to 11 hours.
Sometimes sittings are much shorter. There are lots of reasons this may be the case. For example, on 24 October 2002 the Senate sat for 2 minutes! The reason this sitting was adjourned – suspended – was so senators could attend a memorial service for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Bali.